SPRING 2013 • ISSUE 5
I D E A S
•
M A LTA
ROMAN
VILLAS
•
R E S E A RC H
Ancient secrets
revealed
•
P E O P L E
•
U N I V E R S I TY
SING A
SONG
For clean food,
new tech
ISSN 2306-0735
MALTA’S SEA
Through a lens
DIGITAL
EDITION
CONTENTS
ISSUE
18
Research for Education
SPRING
5 2013
COVER STORY
With an Eye
on the Sea
Malta's beautiful seas explored
B
ringing them out like hot cakes: fresh, sweet smelling,
and with great fillings. We hope an analogy for this issue of Think. Within these pages we have found even
more great stories from University.
Last summer Dr Gambin introduced me to The Roman Villa of Żejtun. Two site visits and six interviews later I found out
about Bronze Age silos, ancient goddesses worshipped in Malta,
and many more treasures.
A couple months ago, I heard about another great story: how
food can be cleaned with sound. It seemed incredible to me,
blast sound waves and out comes disinfected food. I’m sensationalising, but the technology being used is stunning.
Other researchers are talking about monitoring Malta’s beautiful seas to preserve them for our future, or how Malta’s huge
traffic issues could be solved. This issue even has opportunities
for writers and career tips.
What about the editorial’s title: how can research improve
education? More pilot studies are an easy answer. Every new
introduction to our educational system, from science reform to
tablets, should be rigorously studied to see if they work and to
be adapted correctly. The results then feed into policy.
Better-funded labs will also give better student projects.
Summer placements could be introduced before undergraduates undertake final year projects. Some labs already do this;
University already performs wonders on its budget.
Top Universities also have the world’s best researchers who
can draw from personal experience in their lectures. This experience comes from years spent trying to solve research problems. By investing more in research the quality of University
education will rise. Our students will receive better degrees.
28
EDITOR
edward.duca@um.edu.mt
@DwardD
The Roman Villa of Żejtun
Ancient olive oil, Punic pottery,
and Bronze Age silos
42
COVER STORY
Music for Clean Food
Using oregano, plasma, and sound
to disinfect food
47
Edward Duca
COVER STORY
ALUMNI
Alumni Talk
And share their stories plus top tips
to succeed in your career
CONTENTS
CONTRIBUTORS
Dr Janet Mifsud
Dr Kris Zarb Adami
ISSUE
10
Dr Kenneth Scerri
Dr Maria Attard
Prof. Adrian Muscat
Dr Alan Deidun
Christine Farrugia
Jackson Levi Said
Prof. Giuseppe
Di Giovanni
Prof. Anthony
Bonanno
Dr Nicholas Vella
Dr Vasilis Valdramidis
Mario Frendo
Costantino Oliva
Noel Tanti
Jean Pierre Magro
Wilfred Kenely
The Key to Networking
FEATURE
To Drive or not to Drive
How to solve Malta's big
traffic problem
23
FEATURE
The Einstein Enigma
Solving the final puzzle left
by Einstein
53
FUN
Reviewing Mama
This month's horror film review
FEATURED ARTIST
Samuel Sultana
OPINION
Dr Janet Mifsud talks about
COST, a way to meet researchers
around Europe
12
Deandra Cutajar
SPRING
5 2013
54
I engage with translating vision into material. I
am married to creation. I am in motion towards
an understanding and by moving towards it I
am realising it.
I shall not be giving a description of what I
do, for descriptions constrain and stunt mutation, and therefore evolution. By specifying I am
only killing potential.
CULTURE
Story Works
A great opportunity for
budding local writers
www.samuelsultana.com
Are you a student, staff, or researcher at the University of Malta? Would you like
to contribute to THINK magazine? If interested, please get in touch to discuss
your article on think@um.edu.mt or call +356 2340 3451
58
CULTURE GENES
Meme: cats to dinos
CONTENTS
COVER
STUDENTS
6
Students' thinking
The star coral (Astroides calycularis), common in shaded shallow
spots, is one of the many endemic
marine species gracing the Mediterranean Sea. Its orange polyps
form dense clusters at the mouth
of caves, under boulders, or along
overhangs. Photo by Alan Deidun.
About: Titanium, treating stones,
logical chemicals, and saving bats
OPINION
11
Space: the final
frontier for Malta
THINK
Dr Kris Zarb Adami shares his
dreams in space research
I D E A S
•
M A LTA
•
R E S E A RC H
•
P E O P L E
•
U N I V E R S I TY
SPRING 2013 - ISSUE 5
EDITORIAL
Edward Duca EDITOR
DESIGN
FEATURE
THINK is a quarterly research magazine published by the Communications & Alumni Relations Office at the University of Malta.
Jean Claude Vancell
COPY-EDITING
36
Discovering Depression
Treatments
On a search for new drugs through
myths and new findings
Daphne Pia Deguara, Patricia Ellul-Micallef
PRINTING
Print It Printing Services, Malta
ISSN 2306-0735
Copyright © University of Malta, 2013
The right of the University of Malta to be identified as Publisher of this
work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright Act, 2001.
FUN
51
Fact or Fiction?
Can AI become sentient? Asks a
University staff member. Send in
your own question
University of Malta, Msida, Malta
Tel: (356) 2340 2340
Fax: (356) 2340 2342
www.um.edu.mt
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the
purpose of research and review, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for
external websites referred to in this magazine are correct and active at
the time of going to press. However the publisher has no responsibility
for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live
or that the content is or will remain appropriate.
Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any
have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to
include any necessary credits in any subsequent issues.
RESEARCH
56
FIND US ONLINE
Dentists on Wheels
www.facebook.com/ThinkUoM
From mobile dental clinics to
breast cancer research, the UoM's
research trust is on a roll
www.youtube.com/user/ThinkUni
www.twitter.com/thinkuom
www.issuu.com/thinkuni
5
STUDENT
students’
THINKing
Conserving Maltese
culture, saving bats,
refining materials, and
new molecules all by
UoM students
Treating stone to save
Maltese Culture
MALTA HAS THREE UNESCO
world heritage sites which need constant
conservation. Generally, it is better to
preserve the original building material
than replace it. The conservation method
called consolidation can glue deteriorating
stone material to the underlying healthy
stone maintaining it, but few consolidants
have been tested on local Globigerina
limestone.
Sophie Briffa (supervised by Daniel Vella) tested a new set of consolidants which
are stronger than other compounds but affected the colour of the stone. She applied
five different conditions on the stone. The
first three were novel treatments. They were
based on a hybrid silane (tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and 3-(glycidoxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GPTMS)) but one had nanoparticles, one had modified nanoparticles,
and the other lacked them. The fourth was
a simple laboratory-prepared TEOS silane.
6
The fifth was untreated limestone samples
for comparison.
The treatments successfully penetrated
the stone’s surface. Microscopy coupled
with other techniques including mercury
intrusion porosimetry carried out in Cadiz,
Spain, confirmed this infiltration and the
stone’s physical qualities: strength, drilling
resistance, and so on. Half of the treated
stones underwent accelerated weathering.
The consolidants with nanoparticles or
modified nanoparticles were stronger than
the other treatments. They also maintained
the original surface colour and improved the
stones’ ability to absorb water. On the other
hand, they were less resistant to salt crystallisation that can damage the stone making it
brittle.
The best consolidant for Maltese stone
has not yet been found. Ideally, it should
have a good penetration and good weathering properties that preserve the stone’s ap-
pearance. It should allow ‘breathability’ and
be reversible. Current stone consolidation
techniques are irreversible since they permanently introduce new material into the
stone. These are only acceptable since consolidation is a last attempt to save the stone
before complete replacement.
French writer Victor Hugo summed up
the importance of this research when he
said, ‘Whatever may be the future of architecture, in whatever manner our young architects may one day solve the question of
their art, let us, while waiting for new monuments, preserve the ancient monuments. Let
us... inspire the nation with a love for national architecture’.
•
This research was performed as part of an
M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering. The research was funded
by the Strategic Educational Pathways Scholarship (Malta).
THINK STUDENT
Finding bats by listening
SONAR FOR NAVIGATION
was implemented after the Titanic disaster
in 1912. Bats have used this remarkable
technique for the past 50 million years.
These nocturnal animals emit ultrasonic
signals and analyse the returning echoes to
avoid obstacles or predators and find their
prey. For humans, studying bats means
long hours in the night spent tracking their
movements or capturing them with nets. To
avoid some of the bat research difficulties,
conservation researchers identify and study
bats by eavesdropping on the ultrasonic
sounds they emit.
Clare Marie Mifsud (supervised by Dr
Adriana Vella) has now studied bats in Malta linking specific sound patterns to specific
bat species and their behaviour. Bats can be
identified using acoustic detection because
they all use different frequency patterns to
suit their needs. The analyses can be used for
further research and conservation monitoring of local bats.
Her study encompasses 38 research survey sites spread all over the Maltese Islands.
Two bat detectors (a heterodyne and a real-time expansion detector) are used simultaneously to instantly identify and analyse
the species. Nine different bat species are
already confirmed to inhabit the Maltese
Islands till now.
Three species (Rhinolophus hipposideros,
Myotis punicus, and Plecotus austriacus)
were recorded a few times (2% of survey
time), since they use low intensity echolocation signals. Other bat species (Hypsugo
savii, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Pipistrellus
kuhlii, and Pipistrellus pygmaeus) were detected more often (92% of survey time). All
Maltese bats feed on insects and are found
to spend most of their time in valleys followed by other habitats including cliffs,
woodlands, agricultural land, shrublands
and urban settlements. Valley biodiversity is
important for local bat survival and needs to
be preserved.
Through the use of bat acoustic detection
systems and signal analyses, this detailed research is providing the first important set of
data of its kind for all bat species detected
in the Maltese Islands. This complements
other bat research which has been ongoing
since 1998 by the Conservation Biology Research Group (University of Malta). They
have been involved in different bat studies
including the ecology and genetics of local bat populations. These research efforts
aim at reversing the trend of decreasing bat
numbers. Mifsud’s research paves the way
towards developing another effective longterm monitoring tool for the conservation
of bats in Malta.
•
This research is part of an M.Sc. in Biology
at the Faculty of Science. BICREF (The Biological Conservation Research Foundation)
provided voluntary assistance during field
work. The research was partially funded by the
Strategic Educational Pathways Scholarship
(Malta). This Scholarship is part-financed
by the European Union – European Social
Fund (ESF) under Operational Programme
II – Cohesion Policy 2007-2013, ‘Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality
Of Life’.
The long-eared bat Plecotus
is present in the Maltese
Islands but not very common
Clare Marie Mifsud
handling bats in
Poland
7
STUDENT
Titanium:
Smoother and shapelier
ELECTRON BEAM MELTING
(EBM) is a state of the art manufacturing
process. Using this process product designers will be limited only by their imagination. This technology uses an additive
manufacturing approach where parts are
built layer by layer — think of ‘3D printing’.
It can use exotic metals like titanium alloys,
however it does have limitations such as
producing a rough surface finish that hampers its functions.
Christian Spiteri (supervised by Dr Arif
Rochman) investigated whether the Electric Discharge Machining process can be
used to finish parts produced using EBM to
give a smooth surface (difference pictured).
He treated titanium products with the Electric Discharge Machining process and microscopy showed that the finished surface
consists of a set of micro-craters instead of
rough grains. By adding the finishing process, more complex geometries could be
created. Overall, adding Electric Discharge
Machining to EBM had many benefits.
Dr Arif Rochman (University of Malta)
said, ‘EBM parts can be used for a wide
range of applications such as implants in
the medical sector or complex tool inserts,
[…] which cannot be manufactured using
conventional methods. Understanding the
synergy between both processes is a must
for product designers and process engineers
to be able to manufacture high quality EBM
products.’
•
Titanium surface before (top) and after finishing (below). Image taken with a scanning electron
microscope at a magnification of 200x
8
This research was performed as part of a
M.Sc. (Res) in Mechanical Engineering at
the Faculty of Engineering. This research
was partially funded by the Strategic Educational Pathways Scholarship (Malta). This
Scholarship is part-financed by the European
Union – European Social Fund (ESF) under
Operational Programme II – Cohesion Policy
2007-2013, ‘Empowering People for More
Jobs and a Better Quality Of Life’.
THINK STUDENT
Logical chemicals
CHEMISTRY IS not usually associated with logic gates, sensors, and circuits.
However, a new breed of chemist — the
molecular engineer — is adding a bit of
chemical spice to them. Given the right
tools, his/her hands can synthesize anything, from molecules that assemble into
large structures to others that can display
information about their environment.
Thomas Farrugia (supervised by Dr David Magri), created a molecule that could
be toggled between an ON and OFF state
using AND Logic. AND logic means that
it needs two chemicals to switch state, adding just one chemical makes no difference.
The states are easily recognised by shining
UV light on the molecule since only the
ON state produces blue light.
In the OFF state, the movement of
electrons from two input sites prevents
light being released. Stopping the electron
transfer enables light release. The blue light
shines when specific chemicals bind to the
two input sites. The chemicals use up the
electrons being transferred, letting the output of the molecule absorb UV light and
shine blue light.
The two chemicals added were an acid
and an iron (III) source (like what is found
in rust). The acid provides hydrogen ions
that bind to the nitrogen atom, whilst the
iron (III) ions attack the molecule’s iron
(II) atom (pictured as Fe). The molecule
displays AND logic since it needs both the
acid and iron (III) to turn on light emission.
The molecule was synthesised using a
one step reaction and tested to determine
the strength of the ON and OFF signals.
Testing by fluoresence spectroscopy is
OFF
3+
This research was performed as part of a
B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry with Materials at
the Faculty of Science.
e-
2+
2+
Fe
H3 C
•
ON
Fe
N
essential to determine whether it would
make a viable sensor, since the technique
compares the strength of the ON and OFF
state. The molecule will only work well if
there is a large difference between the different states, since a machine needs to detect the change.
This molecule can sense the extent of
acidity and iron (III) ions in a solution, and
convey that information using light, which
is easily measured. The molecule’s design
could also be integrated into bigger and
more complicated molecules so as to carry
out other logical and mathematical operations using chemicals. These molecules are
a step towards chemical computers.
Fe
electrons transfer
H3 C
N
electrons tied up
+
H
from acid
LIGHT
How the molecule synthesised by Thomas Farrugia switches on by lighting up
in the presence of an acid and Iron (III) and switches off when they are removed
9
OPINION
The key to networking
I
first heard about COST (European
Cooperation in Science and Technology, a networking platform for scientists www.cost.eu) way back in 1996
during a pharmacokinetics meeting in
Athens. Some participants mentioned
that their attendance had been funded by
COST. So on my return I contacted the
Malta Council of Science and Technology
to try and obtain more information. When
I learnt that COST funds EU networking
I quickly applied to become a member of
a COST action (this is what COST calls
a network). After bureaucratic leaps and
bounds I become Malta’s representative on a
COST action. It certainly opened new horizons to me and the networks I formed with
top researchers in Europe were unique.
By 2010 my enthusiasm resulted in
MCST nominating me as Malta national contact point for COST. It has been of
huge satisfaction that in these three brief
years Malta’s participation has risen from 6
actions to over 100. Over 150 Maltese researchers take part in COST.
Q
Why is COST so important for Malta?
The complaint I hear most often in Malta,
not only in academic circles but also among
10
Dr Janet Mifsud
SMEs (small to medium enterprises), is that
research in science is only for the elite, that
it is too high brow and that it is not relevant
to Malta. COST proves otherwise. What
else could link disaster bioethics, to colour
and space in cultural heritage to the comparison of European prostitution policies,
with submerged prehistoric archaeology?
“Achieving these
results has not
been easy, since
many researchers
hesitate and require
persistent prodding”
Other links include the quality of suburban
building stocks, integrated fire engineering
and response, and language impairment in a
multilingual society. COST also funds networks across a whole spectrum of research
from the humanities to the fundamental
sciences including string theory to childbirth in various cultures.
Participating in a COST action involves
very simple administrative and funding pro-
cedures. For once, our small size is an added
advantage since every COST country is allowed to nominate two members to participate in each action, putting Malta COST
researchers at par with researchers from
much larger countries.
Achieving these results has not been
easy, since many researchers hesitate and
require persistent prodding. There are frequent reminders and one to one meetings
to persuade them to participate. It has
been a real eye-opener meeting researchers in Malta from different disciplines and
learning about their research.
Deciding to participate in COST may
seem a small step to some, an added administrative burden to others, while some
see it as another travel commitment.
COST offers the response to the conundrum of how to overcome our physical
(and perhaps in some instances also mental) insularity. You should not let this opportunity pass…
•
COST in Malta is managed by the Malta Council for Science and Technology. For
more information see www.mcst.gov.mt/
networking/cost or contact Dr Janet Mifsud,
COST CNC, (+356 23402582/2845, janet.mifsud@um.edu.mt) or cost.mcst@
gov.mt
THINK OPINION
Space:
the final
frontier
for Malta
Dr Kris Zarb
Adami
“Conducting
space research
locally would
bring us to the
forefront of
technology”
T
hink meets up with Dr Kris
Zarb Adami to have a chat about
Malta’s space opportunities. His
research covers subjects from
searching for extraterrestrial life
to new theories of gravity.
Q
How can a small country like Malta
have a role in Space?
As an EU member Malta can continue
strengthening our existing cooperation agreement with the European Space Agency to
full membership. This will automatically give
us access to all its projects. By participating
in these projects, we will be able to leverage
so that research and development for future
space missions is carried out in Malta.
In Malta we are already contributing to a
European Space project, namely EUCLID.
This satellite is due to be launched in 2017 and
will be the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. Researchers at the Department of Physics are developing image-processing algorithms
that can accurately measure the shapes of the
Universe’s furthest galaxies and its expansion.
Moreover, they also collaborate with the
University of Bologna to monitor ‘space debris’ and near earth-objects. This is important
to ensure the successful navigation of satellites
to prevent accidental collisions, which cost
millions of euros. Collisions are not as rare as
we might think.
ranging from biotechnology and long-lasting
foods for space journeys, to the development
of faster and more sensitive communication
systems capable of receiving signals from
deep space. Malta has just been awarded
ERDF funding for new laboratory facilities
at University and will contribute significantly to the future of the European Space Programme. In return, Malta will be able to leverage significant funds from this programme
and also funds designated to commercialising the technologies. We need more support
to get involved in more projects and attract
funds to Malta.
Q
What is the future of Space Research?
The next step lies in the development of
space vehicles capable of running commercially feasible missions, such as turning the
space shuttle into a commercial ‘airliner’
business. Such programmes are beginning
to emerge in the US, but Europe lags far
behind. Commercial spaceflights will certainly play an important role in future space
research.
Apart from research into transportation,
researchers are trying to figure out how to
live on a planet besides our own. How can
future generations be able to create food
products and live in space?
In Malta I would like University and the
whole country to become more involved in
space technology and biotech. We could also
Q What are the benefits of Space re- contribute to landing and docking systems
search for Malta?
for satellites and shuttles, plus space-traffic
control through the University’s expertise in
From the invention of disposable diapers the Engineering Faculty.
to the development of laptops and satellite
TV, space research has traditionally been a Q Is there anything to lose?
very strong contributor to everyday technology. For Malta space research can help
The danger with taking on some new
us monitor our climate and atmospheric research area is that funding from other
pollution, while providing an early warning streams is spread too thinly. However, if we
system for tidal waves.
can manage to leverage extra funding from
Conducting space research locally would large Europe-wide space programmes we will
bring us to the forefront of technology: be able to launch Malta’s name into space!
•
11
TO DRIVE
R
N T
T
DRIVE
Rush hours, feasts, festivals, beaches in summer, Paceville on Saturday night, all have
one thing in common: traffic. Malta has one of the largest traffic problems in the
world. Researchers at the University of Malta are trying to figure out what can be
done to ease road rage and reduce drivers’ lost time
12
THINK FEATURE
Photo: Edward Duca
Dr Kenneth Scerri
Dr Maria Attard
Prof. Adrian Muscat
T
he Maltese road network is
bloated. Malta has one of the
highest rates of car density in
the world, rivalling some of the
big cities such as London or
Paris. The World Bank puts it in 9th place
with 693 vehicles per 1000 inhabitants,
while the US, famously considered as one
of the most car dependent states, is in 3rd
place with 797 vehicles. A less quoted but
possibly more important statistic is the
number of cars per square kilometre: the
US has 25 vehicles; Malta packs a staggering 991.
A large number of vehicles means traffic.
It wastes time, money, increases stress and
noise levels, and pollutes the air. But can the
Maltese road network be improved to alleviate these problems? Many researchers at the
University of Malta are trying to solve these
problems. Our approach involves using varied means like data gathering, policy analysis, transport modelling, and the assessment
of innovative transport ideas.
The start of any study is based on a sound
analysis of the current state of play. Dr Maria Attard (Department of Geography) has
studied the local traffic situation, noting its
evolution from just a few thousand cars to
over 300,000.
People’s dependency on cars makes Malta a world leader. Just over 1 in 10 trips are
carried out by bus. Since the 80s Malta has
witnessed a gradual switch from public to
private transport, turning walking into a
luxury.
Recent governments have tried to manage
traffic growth, which has been a big part of
Dr Attard’s research into transport projects
and policies. The first Park and Ride scheme
in Floriana was introduced to try and reduce
the stress on the City’s congested roads. On
top of this, government even introduced
a road-pricing scheme, the Controlled Vehicular Access (CVA) system in Valletta.
Drivers had to pay to enter Malta’s capital.
In New York and Edinburgh similar ideas
failed to be implemented. Certain key town
centres have also been pedestrianised. All of
these are efforts to reduce the congestion
and pollution that come with using our cars
so much.
Dr Attard’s research on road pricing
showed how such projects can be developed and implemented successfully. Malta
introduced road pricing in 2007, three years
after London’s congestion charge and one
year into the Stockholm trial. In Malta the
scheme initially decreased the amount of
traffic. Now traffic volume has levelled off as
people might be getting used to paying the
charge.
Dr Attard compared and analysed different cities showing that successful »
13
FEATURE
Photo: Kenneth Scerri
introduction in Malta and elsewhere needed a strong political will, thorough research,
while being well thought out, designed, and
executed. Malta therefore could be a good
model for a mid-sized city to learn from.
Maths to the rescue
Malta has many troublesome junctions. Fixing these problems is expensive and rarely
reversible, needing extensive testing and serious evaluation before implementation. Dr
Kenneth Scerri (Department of Systems and
Control Engineering) and a team of engineering students build mathematical models
that can test possible changes and see if these
new ideas work at close to no cost at all.
The basics of transport mathematics are
surprisingly simple and uncannily similar to
the drain in our kitchens. The link is not as
strange as it sounds.
Imagine your sink. With a slow supply
of water, there is no water build up and the
water flows straight out. Increase the supply
14
a little and the water level in the sink will
probably slowly rise. Clog the drain and the
water level will rise higher.
“Traffic flow
behaviour can
be captured
mathematically by
difference equations”
Traffic at a junction behaves in exactly
the same way. With few cars reaching the
junction, they sail right through with close
to no delay. Increase the number of cars or
block the junction ever so slightly, and the
queue of cars slowly increases, just like your
rising sink water with a stronger supply or a
clogged drain.
Maltese traffic is a bit more complicated.
A sink is just one junction. Malta has thousands. Imagine thousands of clogged sinks
linked to each other. That is the Maltese
road network. Despite its complexity, it can
still be modelled with the right equations.
Traffic flow behaviour (and water, if you
wanted to model your sink) can be captured mathematically by difference equations — that is, mathematical expressions
of how something changes over time. Like
roads themselves, the equations can all be
connected to form a complex network that
represents mathematically the local traffic
network.
Coming up with this mathematical model
is not as difficult as it might sound, though
there are some complications.
First of all, have you ever heard the phrase
‘garbage in, garbage out’? This concept applies perfectly to transport models, since
they can only be as good as the data available. Data gathering is a modeller’s first problem.
THINK FEATURE
To make matters worse, capturing the
complexities of all roads and junctions on
the network requires accurate data over a
long time. Thankfully, over the years, various studies have gathered some of the data
needed and by collaborating with Transport
Malta, University researchers have access to
this data to study the Maltese network.
Most transport models require knowing from where people started driving and
where they went. This information is gathered as origin-destination data and tries
to capture all the regular trips performed
by all drivers on the Maltese network. In
2010, Transport Malta attempted to gather
this data through an extensive survey. They
estimated that over 500,000 trips using a
private vehicle are undertaken each day.
Birkirkara is the most popular destination
with over 34,000 trips, followed by Msida (25,000), Mosta (21,000) and Attard
(19,000).
Now that we have the data, how do we
build the model? Traditional models assume that drivers all try to find the quickest
route that gets drivers to their destination.
This assumption runs into a few potholes.
First of all, the quickest route will most
likely change as the traffic volumes on the
roads increase. Troublesome junctions
might get so congested that drivers often
decide to take other roads to reach their
destination more quickly. Secondly, even
the simplest Maltese model taking into account all arterial roads still need over 100
traffic nodes and another 100 links. Plug
in 500,000 trips performed each day and
most computers will burn down.
To overcome these problems, Masters student Luana Chetcuti Zammit has developed
models that can work on a laptop. Her models use Bayesian Statistics to represent and
estimate the traffic flow on all major roads
on the Maltese Islands. This model has many
advantages; most importantly they allow
busy roads to be given more importance,
give better results, and allow for a high level
of stochastisity in the drivers choices, that is,
they allow the drivers to take longer routes
due to habit or because they might feel more
comfortable with them.
Every model needs to be tested. To do
this, Zammit flung data from another big
dataset. It includes information like the daily number of vehicles on some major roads.
For example, Aldo Moro Road in Marsa
is the busiest road with 90,000 vehicles »
15
Photo: Edward Duca
FEATURE
“Less cars on the
road can allow
people to enjoy
walks around our
beautiful villages
and help increase
the number of
green spaces”
per day. Thirteenth December Road in
Marsa sees 50,000, while Marina Road in
Msida sees around 40,000 vehicles.
The beauty behind these models is they
can fill in the gaps. Transport Malta would
need a hefty budget increase to monitor
all roads. With this model, traffic flow in
roads which are not covered can be predicted and different scenarios tested. What
happens if this junction clogs up? Or what
would happen if we added a bus lane, or
widened the road? This model can test
such ideas to make sure they work when
carried out in real life.
New ideas go under the
virtual hammer
CVA
Valletta
Cameras situated at
every entrance and exit of
the city capture photographs
of vehicle movements. The
pictures are scanned using
optical recognition software to
read the number plate. The
driver is billed according
to the time spent in
the city.
16
Maltese people use cars to go everywhere.
Whether we are on our way to work, the
beach, the cinema, a restaurant, or to shop.
Most people who can drive do so. Public
transport is underused and people walk
much less than their European neighbours.
Maltese citizens are paying the price of underused transport resources affecting their
health and emptying their pockets.
New transport ideas are needed to solve
this problem. Prof. Adrian Muscat and
researchers from the Department of Communications and Computer Engineering
are considering novel transport modes.
Their aim is to help people live better lives
by reducing the amount of unnecessary
cars on the road.
With a local lens, Prof. Muscat’s team
is studying the impact of cars on people’s quality of life. Less cars on the road
can allow people to enjoy walks around
our beautiful villages and help increase
the number of green spaces. They are
studying how ride sharing and taxi sharing, also known as dial-a-ride can help to
tame our addiction to private cars. These
ideas are not new, being implemented the
world over, but scaling them up and offering them to the general public at low-cost
is an innovative concept.
Let’s use another example to understand how taxi sharing works (no sinks
this time). Sally is invited to a business
meeting in Sliema. She works in Kordin.
She picks up her mobile and asks (through
a specific app) for a trip to Sliema. In a few
seconds, she receives a message offering to
pick her up in 10 minutes. She accepts, is
picked up, shares her taxi with other passengers (who are travelling to different
destinations), then arrives at her destination hassle free, and is finally billed three
Euros.
For ride sharing, let’s consider Paul. He
works in a large establishment with fixed
working hours. The company organises a
ride-share programme, with an added reward of a guaranteed parking space. Paul
shares with four other employees. They
all save on fuel, parking, and help reduce
traffic at peak hours. All is again organised through an app on their phone making it quick, easy, and cheap.
Taxi sharing has a few advantages over
public transport and normal taxis. It is
cheaper than taxis and would only be
slightly more expensive than public transport. Ultimately, it is the best of both
worlds: affordable to many, flexible, and
comfortable.
THINK FEATURE
Legend
Arterial and Distributor Roads
Weekday traffic volume
2449 - 6604
6605 - 13161
13162 - 32012
All other roads
Limits to Development
N
0
1
2
4
6
8
Kilometers
Model showing the 24-hour weekday traffic volume on Malta’s arterial road network. Kindly provided by Dr Maria Attard
Ride-sharing is not perfect for everyone.
People need to work within the same entity,
which needs to ensure personal security. To
effectively reduce traffic at peak hours, the
scheme needs to be extended to the general
public. 'How?' Is a tougher question to answer.
This group studies traffic from a holistic
point of view trying to consider as many different factors as possible. By changing one
point, 10 others could be affected which
influences government policy. For example,
it is undesirable to encourage a switch from
public transport to ride-sharing. People are
better off using both.
Malta’s traffic problem is solvable. Between 1998 and 2010 the number of bus
trips to Valletta went up from 46.1% to
57% while private cars plummeted from
50.9% to 40.7%. Dr Attard’s work shows
how strong policy and effective measures
can work. The current strain on roads can
be reduced by encouraging more drivers to
switch to public transport or sharing modes.
Perhaps even reverse the trend all over Mal-
ta. But what would convince commuters to
switch? Experience shows that fiscal rewards
may not be enough. Delivering a high quality service is equally important. We need
the right measures, tweaked to consumers'
changing needs.
So let’s start by all doing our part. Try to
share a ride to work tomorrow, take a bus,
or better still, walk with a friend. In the
end, changing our travel habits might help
reduce traffic but, more importantly, might
make us happier and healthier.
•
17
Photo: Edward Duca
The fried egg jellyfish (Cotylorhiza tuberculata)
Photo: David Watson
18
THINK FEATURE
With An
Eye On
The Sea
Dr Alan Deidun
writes about a warming
Mediterranean Sea, a recently
built centre in Gozo, and
collaborations with economists
19
FEATURE
Dr Alan Deidun
Nudibranchs are probably amongst the most charismatic groups of marine invertebrates as a result of their
bright colours and graceful movements — they normally feed on sponges, hydrioids, and algae. Photo: D.
Bianchini
M
arine Protected Areas
are poorly understood
and not appreciated
but are vital to maintain
healthy seas for all who
live or enjoy the sea. The areas are a priceless patrimony that we need to preserve. The
EU funded PANACEA Project promotes
the biodiversity and marine assets of four
Sicilian (Capo Gallo/Isola delle Femmine,
Ustica, Isole Pelagie and Plemmirio) and
two Maltese (Dwejra and Rdum Majjiesa)
areas, and aims to maintain them for future
generations.
Despite the distances involved, a common
thread links all six areas. Their biodiversity is
stunning. They are filled with iconic marine
species unique to the Mediterranean, such
as the Noble Pen Shell (Pinna nobilis — nakkra in Maltese), the long-spined sea urchin
(Centrostephanus longispinus), the star coral (Astroides calycularis) and vast Neptune
20
Grass vast meadows (Posidonia oceanica), a
keystone species. Unfortunately, other species like the Mediterranean coral (Cladocera
caespitose) are much more vulnerable. It
might become extinct because of increasing water acidity, the ‘evil twin’ of climate
change. These organisms are all stressed
by an overfished and overexploited Mediterranean Sea, a reason for more frequent
jellyfish blooms. Over 150 million people
surround our Sea.
Dwejra in Gozo now houses the edutainment arm of the PANACEA project. One
of four educational centres built in four of
the 6 areas. The Gozo centre was finished
in March. Visitors can experience a kaleidoscopic overview of the marine life and
habitats present in every area. Underwater
documentaries (thousands of views on YouTube), interactive panels, dioramas of submerged landscapes, audiovisual panels, and
resin replicas try to encourage awareness.
The tools show the complexity beneath our
seas and the link with the land.
Apart from communicating with the
public, the project is focused on scientific
research. It spearheaded the development
of a novel 2D-coupled ecological model for
the Dwejra coastal area, which considers
both physical (temperature, acidity, salinity, and so on) and biological effects. Since
it is a 2D model, a single standard water
depth is considered rather than every single
height. The model can forecast the impact
on water quality of development in Dwejra.
For example, what is the effect of increasing
boathouses around the Inland Sea? This approach can help policy and decision makers
keep within EU obligations.
The PANACEA project has similar aims
to another project in which Dr Deidun is
acting as Project Manager called BioDiValue. Vessels have been fitted with an Automatic Identification System (AIS), which
THINK FEATURE
The interior of a landmark marine environmental education centre at Dwejra, replete with innovative tools such as a new generation of interactive panels, dioramas, audio-visual panels, and resin, lifesize replicas of Mediterranean marine species. Left: Photos courtesy of Alan Deidun, Shaun Arrigo,
E. Micali, Giuseppe Muccio, Patrick Schembri, respectively
“These organisms
are all stressed
by an overfished
and overexploited
Mediterranean
Sea, a reason for
more frequent
jellyfish blooms”
sends out a signal about vessel location. An
antenna at the University of Malta picks
up their signal. Monitoring vessel location
is important in case of oil spills, and the
discharge of fuel and ballast water (potential introduction of alien species). Malta’s
coastline and waters can only be protected
if we know the risks. Following the International Maritime Organization’s International Convention for the Safety of Life at
Sea, all ships above 300 tons must be fitted
with this system.
BioDiValue is also building a TowFish, a
towed underwater platform. It is equipped
with sensors (e.g. chlorophyll, temperature,
salinity depth) and video cameras (including one to take snapshots of gelatinous
plankton) to determine the water quality
and document our beautiful seas. The design and construction is coordinated by Dr
Martin Muscat (Department of Mechanical Engineering, UoM) and the University
of Catania.
Economics of conservation
One third of the world’s maritime traffic
passes through the Mediterranean just a
few hundred kilometres off Malta. Ships
release huge amounts of pollution, and the
BioDiValue project is trying to quantify
the economic detriment it has on the environment. This 2.4 million Euro project
is seeing the water quality, number of alien
species, and so on that ship traffic has on
the Malta-Sicily channel. Environmental
economists will be translating this information into monetary terms for policy-makers
and decision-makers. Economists and biologists seem to be talking more frequently
these days.
A tropical Mediterranean
There are signs that the Mediterranean is
warming. Dr Deidun, colleagues at the
Physical Oceanography Unit (IOI-Malta »
21
FEATURE
Operational Centre, University of Malta),
and the Department of Biology are working on the EU-wide ‘Tropical Signals’ programme that is observing how the Mediterranean is becoming tropical. New species,
temperature rises, and other changes are all
being studied.
The Maltese team is using temperature
data loggers donated by CIESM (the project
coordinator, International Commission for
the Scientific Exploration of the Mediterranean Sea). The loggers were set at 5m-intervals, from a depth of 5m down to a depth
of 40m. Since 2011 sea temperature levels
around Malta and Gozo have been recorded
every hour on the hour. They are retrieved
every six months to download the recordings before being redeployed in the field. The temperature data being collected will
be used to see if changes in temperature are
22
“Malta’s marine
area is impressively
almost 14 times its
land area”
changing the local ecosystem. The Department of Biology is monitoring fish assembly
changes. By combining the data from all
partners a picture of the whole Mediterranean can be formed.
Despite its small size, Malta’s marine area is
impressively almost 14 times its land area. Our
Seas need to be monitored by local researchers
participating in innovative projects.
•
PANACEA Project, a two-year project
part-financed by the European Union under
the Operational Programme Italia-Malta
2007–2013.
FURTHER READING
• Visit www.panaceaproject.net
for more information about the
PANACEA project.
• Visit www.perseus-net.eu to learn
about the Clean Seas by 2020
PERSEUS project, funded by the FP7
programme.
• Visit www.ioikids.net/jellyfish for
information on the citizen science
campaign Spot the Jellyfish
• Visit www.alandeidun.eu for his
personal website and updates about
his research.
• Visit www.planbleu.org/
publications/Cahier8_marin_
EN.pdf — a publication that talks
about the economic important of
Mediterranean marine ecosystems.
THINK FEATURE
The
Einstein
Enigma
23
FEATURE
Deandra Cutajar, Christine Farrugia,
Jackson Levi Said, Dr Kris Zarb Adami
We experience gravity everyday, but how it works is one of the biggest questions in physics.
Einstein’s theory of relativity means that we don’t understand over 90% of the Universe.
A team at the University of Malta is trying to put that in order
I
do not know what I may appear to the
world, but to myself I seem to have
been only like a boy playing on the
seashore’, said the famous Isaac Newton. Humanity has progressed in its
search for answers by always searching
for the next smooth pebble, the next pretty
shell. In Malta, a small group of students is
trying to understand gravity through the observation of stars and galaxies that light up
the night sky.
Gravity has kept our feet on the ground
since we started walking upright. Early theories by the Greek philosopher Aristotle
(384–322 bc) were interesting but far from
the truth. His Universe was built in concentric spheres with Earth at the centre, followed by water, air, fire, and enclosed by the
heavens — a rock fell to the Earth because it
wanted to go to its original sphere. Clearly,
he was wrong.
Aristotle’s concepts were challenged
during the Renaissance when the Italian
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642 ad) infamously
dropped different weights from the tower of Pisa. Contrary to the Greek theory
which stated that the heavier an object is,
the faster it falls, Galileo saw the objects all
fall at the same rate. Theories need to match
observations, otherwise they fail — an invaluable technique used time and again by
24
any decent scientist including the Malta
group of astrophysicists led by Dr Kris Zarb
Adami.
The first person to suggest a good theory
for why rocks fall was Isaac Newton (1643–
1727 ad). As the story goes, watching an apple fall triggered Sir Isaac Newton to come
up with his theory of bodies. He said that any-
“Space is a
dynamic entity
‘moving forward’
in time, the two
being bound by
light itself”
thing with mass had a force that attracted
everything towards it — the bigger the mass,
the bigger the force. Since the apple is smaller than the Earth, it falls towards it, and
since the Earth is smaller than the Sun, the
Earth goes around the Sun. Newton’s law
was successfully used to predict the motion
of planets and helped discover Neptune.
By the 20th century, holes in Newton’s
ideas started to appear when scientists discovered that Mercury’s orbit differed slightly
from Newtonian predictions. In 1915, along
came Einstein (1879–1955 ad) who again
revolutionised our understanding of gravity
through the introduction of his theory of
general relativity. Newton had considered
time and our three-dimensional space to be
independent. Einstein replaced this with the
notion of spacetime, which combines space
and time into one continuous surface. Space
is a dynamic entity ‘moving forward’ in time,
the two being bound by light itself.
Large objects like the Sun bend the fabric of spacetime (it is convenient to think of
spacetime as a sheet of fabric with balls lying
on top of it — bigger balls curve the fabric
more). Smaller objects (such as the Earth)
try to follow the shortest route around the
Sun. The shortest way is curved and it is easy
to see how this comes about.
Consider the shortest route from the
North Pole to the South Pole, you would
naturally move down a curved longitude,
which forms part of a circle round the Earth.
This concept also explains why the Earth
traces an orbit round the Sun. The orbit is
the ‘best straight line’ that Earth can trace in
the curved spacetime surrounding the Sun.
THINK FEATURE
What is our Universe made up of?
4.9%
Ordinary Matter
26.8%
Dark Matter
A star burning out
As John Archibald Wheeler neatly summarises it: ‘Spacetime tells matter how to
move, matter tells spacetime how to curve’.
Einstein’s biggest blunder
Einstein’s theory of general relativity describes how gravity works. Einstein wanted his equations to represent a static Universe that did not change with time. To
this end, he introduced a factor called the
cosmological constant that would bring
the Universe to a halt. However, this idea
was short-lived. Another great (though
highly egotistical) physicist called Edwin
Hubble discovered that the Universe was
expanding; this was confirmed in the late
nineties and led to a Nobel Prize in 2011.
It not only means that all matter will eventually disperse throughout the Universe
and future generations will see only a blank
night sky, but also poses a problem in that
the reason for this expansion is completely
unknown and unpredicted from Einstein’s
theory. And it is not a small factor at all,
since this mysterious energy makes up 68%
of the energy in the Universe. Nicknamed
‘dark energy’ because it is unseen, this is the
biggest problem in modern astrophysics
and cosmology.
Scientists either have to accept that dark
energy is true, or that Einstein’s model has
68.3%
Dark Energy
met its limits and physics needs a new way
to model gravity, at least on the largest of
scales. The Malta astrophysics group is trying to verify and find new models of gravity — these so-called alternative theories of
gravity. The idea is to compare observations
to the different gravitational theories, including Einstein’s, and see which works best.
Our focus is split two-ways: one is the
effect that celestial bodies have on each
other’s orbital motion and the other is the
bending of light around heavenly bodies.
For example, our sun bends spacetime,
causing the planets to go round it in ellipses. The sun also wobbles around a very small
orbit. Observations show that the orbiting
objects go round a bit longer than we would
expect. The extra amount is miniscule, so
measurements are taken after many orbits
as this magnifies the effect. We use this as
a possible test to disqualify alternative theories and have already shown how an important alternative theory of gravity cannot
be true.
This is how fundamental science works.
If a model does not match observations it
needs to be modified to arrive at something
that does give all the predictions we require.
The end result must be a complete theory
by itself but the different components could
find their birth in a wide variety of unconnected sources.
The Malta astrophysics group considered
a theory called conformal Weyl gravity that
is similar to general relativity in every respect except one. This theory behaves exactly like Einstein’s but imposes a further constraint — mainly that the gravitational field
remains the same no matter how much it is
stretched or squeezed. Simply put, as long
as the mass remains the same, gravity does
not change. This assumption solves many
problems. It makes dark matter and dark energy unnecessary. Dark matter is needed to
explain the motion of stars in galaxies. Like
dark energy, it is called dark because it cannot be seen or analysed in any way. Making
them irrelevant would fill a gaping hole of
knowledge for astrophysics.
When the group tested the Weyl theory, it
gave the same result as general relativity and »
“Dark matter is
needed to explain
the motion of stars
in galaxies. Like dark
energy, it is called
dark because it
cannot be seen or
analysed in any way”
25
FEATURE
a small additional term. That was not a problem, since effects of this term were so small
that they could not be observed with today’s
largest telescopes. The problem, as shown by
the Maltese astrophysics group, is that the
term grows larger with distance and contradicts observations at the largest galactic
scales. This was an important nail in the coffin for the Weyl theory of gravity and Einstein’s theory still remains the best model.
Our next step is to test other alternative
theories of gravity by analysing how objects
orbit each other. In the same way we disproved conformal Weyl gravity, we hope
that these tests will help astrophysicists to
eventually come closer to a model that correctly explains the cosmos.
Bending light
Gravitational Lensing is perhaps the most
sensitive test of gravity on cosmological
scales. To understand how it works, consider a lit candle and a wine glass. Imagine
holding the wine glass and peering at the
candle through the glass’ base. The flame
will be distorted and changes shape. Now
picture you are with a friend who stands a
couple feet by your side. The flame will ap-
Sense of scale of the universe
26
pear normal to them since they are seeing
it from a different perspective and the light
does not pass through the glass. Two people
with a different point of view see different
flame shapes. The wine glass’ base distorts
the flame because it acts like a lens changing
the direction light travels. Obviously in the
Universe there are no wine glasses between
the stars and the Earth but objects with
huge masses like our sun or galaxies can act
like a lens and bend the direction of light by
the sheer force of gravity.
When there is no mass to affect it, light
travels in straight lines, but insert a massive
object and hey presto, the light deflects
around it as if it were going through a
curved glass lens. The area in which an object feels the gravitational pull of the Earth
is called the Earth’s gravitational field. Each
object in the Universe has a gravitational
field and can therefore pull other objects
towards it — like the Earth’s effect on the
Moon, which keeps it in orbit.
Anything that enters an object’s gravitational field will feel a gravitational pull
towards the center of the object. Imagine
a ray of light travelling from a point to another with nothing in between. In this case
the ray will travel in a straight line. Nev-
Graphical representation of dark matter
“If a star’s light is being
bent by a galaxy, from
Earth it will appear
that the star’s light
has changed, when
in reality it would not
have changed at all”
THINK FEATURE
The Wine Glass effect: gravitational lensing is explained using the base of a wine glass and a black dot
Gravitational lensing is clearly visible on Galaxy Cluster RCS2, as viewed using the Hubble Space Telescope
Cutajar’s work focused on testing theories
where no dark matter is needed. If true, this
would put a small spanner into Einstein’s
equations.
She tested two theories. They passed the
first tests, but they have to pass many more
to unseat Einstein’s general Relativity. Going back to the Swiss astronomer Zwicky,
the two theories could explain why galaxies are not ripped apart by the speed with
which they spin. Dark matter could be dead.
In another test, both theories failed to explain the extra gravitational effect observed
in lensing. One theory failed miserably,
while the other yielded less accurate results
than Einstein’s general relativity. Dark matter is reborn; on the other hand, it cannot remain dark. It needs to be found and studied.
No theory of gravity has yet been found
to beat Einstein’s equations. The explanation of how gravity works according to
Einstein is better than Newton’s. A curved
spacetime clearly explains why light is bent.
Einstein’s theory of gravity still holds water
and apart from the cosmological constant
(his biggest blunder), he was right on most
things. When his stunning prediction of
how light can bend was observed, he replied, ‘I knew the theory was correct. Did
you doubt it?’
What the future holds for any theory
of gravity is uncertain, but what is definitely true is that the astrophysics
group in Malta cannot accept the fact
that we don’t understand 95% of the universe.
Art by Samuel Sultana
ertheless, if the ray meets with an object
along its way to the Earth, the object will
pull the ray towards it as a consequence of
the object’s gravity. Even though the ray of
light will try to keep moving in a straight
line, the gravity of the object is so strong
that it bends the ray’s path. If a star’s light
is being bent by a galaxy, from Earth it will
appear that its light has changed, when in
reality it would not have changed at all.
This effect is called Gravitational Lensing
and is currently one of the best tests for alternative theories of gravity, since one can
measure the deflection of light and check
whether it agrees with the theoretical predictions.
Extreme situations like the bending of
light by galaxies cause problems for Einstein’s theory. When summing up the masses of the galaxies, we obtain the mass of the
objects that are visible in the cluster. Comparing the predicted light deflection with
the observed one, astronomers consistently
find that the light is bent ‘more’ than is expected. The way to solve this issue is obvious. Introduce a completely invisible mass
that increases the amount of bending until
the predictions fit the observation: enter
dark matter!
The idea of dark matter emerged a while
ago. In 1933, Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky
suggested it when studying how a galaxy
rotation changes as one goes further away
from the galaxy’s center. Zwicky observed
that the speed or velocities predicted by Einstein’s theory should tear the galaxy apart. In
reality, something must be keeping it whole.
The idea of an invisible substance called
dark matter was born.
Dark matter keeps the Universe together by opposing dark energy that pushes the
Universe apart. Dark energy is related to
the cosmological constant, previously discarded as Einstein’s biggest blunder, now
reintroduced in astrophysicists’ equations
to explain the accelerated expansion of the
Universe.
The problem with dark matter is that it
has never been seen. There is only indirect
proof of its possible existence. Deandra
•
27
The Roman Villa of
Żejtun
Malta has a gem. Underneath metres of soil lie the remains of a Roman Villa.
Archaeologists from the University of Malta have nearly finished excavating the
site. The secrets they are digging out of the ground are pretty stunning.
Words by The Editor
28
THINK FEATURE
Prof. Anthony Bonanno
Dr Nicholas Vella
I
t was hot, I did not want to touch my
own car — the metal was boiling. Summer work in Malta is hard labour. But I
was driving to meet teachers, lecturers,
and students from the University of
Malta who have spent countless summers
digging up one of the most important Roman ruins in Malta.
Dated from the 4th century bc (a recent
dating that pushes it into the Punic period, the Carthaginians) the site combines
a residential and industrial area. It is one
of two remaining sites in southeast Malta.
The Villa’s industry was mainly pressing olives to make olive oil, a hint to the village’s
name Żejtun (żejt is Maltese for oil). One
can imagine in antiquity, large numbers of
these villas producing a particular type of
Malta-branded olive oil shipped around the
Mediterranean. To think that this valuable
site was nearly lost.
At this point the Museums department
stepped in to preserve the area. Between
1970 and 1976, Frans Mallia, the Museums
Department Director, and Tancred Gouder,
Curator of Archaeology at the time, used
workmen and foreign students studying
English to excavate the site. The site was divided ‘in rectangular boxes or trenches with
letters assigned to them in order to excavate
in a proper way,’ Prof. Bonanno continued
explaining. Unfortunately, they used the
old-fashioned Italian excavation style which
he summarised as: ‘removing a huge quantity of earth, without sieving, and following a
wall’s edge.’ This leads to many disputes for
dating. ‘Eventually we learnt proper stratigraphic excavation techniques from British
archaeologists, namely, peeling off layer after
layer after having identified the difference
between one layer and another,’ a much
more logical approach.
Prof. Bonanno’s more accurate methods
started being introduced in 1976 when he
was working at University [its first lecturer in Archaeology]. With the permission
of Dr Gouder he directed two short excavations with small groups of students. He
introduced the stratigraphic sheet, which
recorded what came from where and in
which layer of earth. Before they stopped,
they had ‘the most important and spectacular discovery in just a five-day excavation,
which was the discovery of a cooking pot
with Punic inscription. Eventually we »
And now for some history
In 1961, while building a school ‘they [construction workers] came across large blocks of
stone that indicated an ancient Roman ruin.
They did not give it much notice. They cleared
enough space for the construction of the first
school blocks. In 1964, more bulldozing was
done and more stuff was found,’ remembers
Prof. Anthony Bonanno (Faculty of Arts,
University of Malta), one of the co-directors
of the dig. The marks are still clear today.
Grooves left in the ancient stonework by the 1960s construction work
29
FEATURE
found out that this inscription was identical
to scores of others discovered at Tas-Silġ in
the 1960s.’
The inscription was dedicated to the
goddess Ashtart (in Phoenician, Tanit in
Carthaginian), the goddess of fertility, agriculture, seamen, and so on — perfect for
Malta. Loads of dedications to her were
found in the Punic sanctuary at Tas-Silġ,
as expected (covered in THINK issue 02,
pages 38–44). The Villa’s inscribed cooking
pot revealed that religious life in the Punic
and Roman period was incredibly rich and
extended outside this sanctuary.
Olive oil for antiquity
In the 1970s, they found huge stone blocks
used to produce olive oil. The Villa was
equivalent to an olive-oil-producing factory.
30
“In the 1970s, they
found huge stone
blocks used to
produce olive oil. The
villa was equivalent
to an olive-oilproducing factory”
‘The pressing of olives to produce olive oil
depends on a fairly straightforward process,’
explained Dr Nicholas Vella (University of
Malta) the other co-director of the dig site.
‘You need to apply pressure to olives which
have had their pips removed. The ancient
sources tell us you did not want to crush the
pip because that would create an inferior
quality olive oil.’ Dr Vella continued to explain how, peculiarly, today the whole fruit
including the pip is crushed, then separated
later. Today’s olive oil could be worse than
the Romans’. Research is needed to find out,
once and for all, which process makes the
best oil.
To press the oil, a screw is twisted in the
anchor stone block, like that found at Żejtun, to lower a weight on top of olives in
baskets. This squashes them against a stone
press bed extracting the olive oil that runs
Part of the Roman-era equipment to press olives. Top
left: counterweight stone block that held the lever in
place which pushed a heavy weight on the olives to
extract olive oil
THINK FEATURE
Industrial area
Residential area
into channels cut into it. The anchor stone
in Żejtun is a very advanced Roman example. ‘I would say this is the Rolls Royce of
them all,’ explained Dr Vella excitedly.
The press bed to this anchor stone has not
yet been found. The archaeologists think it
might never be found if future site users reused it elsewhere, a lost treasure.
What the archaeologists did find during
the dig of 2012, when I visited them, was a
small press bed. They found it as part of an
ancient wall. ‘This [find] is splendid because
we had been missing this from the site, now
we have it,’ said Dr Vella. It means that as the
villa grew in importance it upgraded its olive oil pressing technology. When the Rolls
Royce of olive presses arrived they reused
the simpler press bed. Nothing was wasted.
To know your future, you
must know your past
As I was interviewing Dr Vella, we both noticed the roofs around us. Few of the massive
flat surfaces were collecting run-off water,
most pipes let their water seep into drainage
systems or sewers. This would never happen
in antiquity. If it did, they would have died.
The ancient people of Malta could not extract water from the sea like we can today
through reverse osmosis plants.
This Roman Villa was a large complex.
Water was precious and they had one cistern, possibly two, that stored water for
usage over Malta’s unforgiving summer.
Water was essential, being used for humans,
animals, and farming. Water and food were
the mainstay of everything. ‘Certainly over
here there was a major concern to collect
every millilitre of rainwater that fell on this
farm’s roofs and store it.’ Covered water
channels led the run-off roof water to the
storage areas underground.
Ancient Roman texts describe how a Roman farm was built and how crops could be
raised even in arid environments like Malta.
The viability of farming in Malta is also described in other historical texts. At the beginning of British colonial rule, a text from
1811 describes how Maltese soil, despite
being shallow and dry, could grow cotton
and vines. While we still have vines, we do
not grow cotton any more. Surely there are
lessons to learn from the old ways.
Archaeology today
Archaeology is a discipline that naturally
bridges fields but has some peculiarities.
Unlike the sciences, experiments cannot be
repeated. ‘Excavation is destructive, since
once layers are removed they cannot be put
back; we can’t think of an excavation as an
experiment,’ explained Dr Vella. On the other hand, archaeology is incredibly rigorous.
It helps make sense of history.
The most important principles are identification of a layer, its deposits, painstaking
excavation, and documenting absolutely
everything. Figuring out a site is tough
work. Archaeologists usually work with 10
metre by 10 metre trenches. Now let us use
an analogy to understand a site. Imagine
looking at a trifle from above, and slowly
removing every layer, placing a number to »
31
FEATURE
Left: photography from the Early investigations by the Museums Department (Frans Mallia 1964, Tancred Gouder 1972–1976). Right: sketch plan of the
Roman Villa site (1972). Reproduced by courtesy of Heritage Malta and the National Museum of Archaeology
every layer and every deposit, be it cream,
custard, or coffee-dipped sponge fingers.
Then using these notes to piece together a
picture of the trifle. Now, imagine it again.
Imagine ‘some kids went in and plunged in
their hands, lifted everything, and left you
with a mess, this is usually the scenario at a
disturbed site,’ illustrated Dr Vella.
To understand this mess, archaeologists
use the Harris matrix. This simple method
was invented in 1974 by Dr Edward C.
Harris. Each deposit is given a number and
then the deposit is linked graphically to adjacent deposits or those below. ‘The Harris
matrix would help identify what is coming
from where,’ explained first year student
Luke Brightwell, who was being trained
on site. ‘For example, if you have soil on
top, then a layer of stones beneath, and a
pit going through the layers’, a Harris matrix can answer, ‘which layers did the pit go
through? Which is the earliest deposit? [...]
This is why a lot of time is spent recording
32
the layers.[…] You have to plan the site, dig
the layers, and see what kind of material
was dug from each layer.’
‘The challenge is to recognise each stratum,’ continued Dr Vella. The strata are identified on site by eye. The deposit is tested for
colour and consistency, normally by wetting
the sample to identify the type of soil: is it
silty, sandy or clay? ‘If we realise that we have
samples with a good ash content we often
take samples in 10-litre or 30-litre buckets.
We take them off site, sift them, and pass the
deposit through a flotation tank.’ The organic matter floats to the surface, is collected,
and studied. Then they can paint a picture of
the environment and diet of the inhabitants.
The crux is making sure that the layer is not
contaminated. For example, ‘if I have roots
going through my deposit the likelihood is
that you have a contaminated layer,’ which
makes it rather useless.
The 2012 dig may have found a gold
mine, an untouched (by the 1970s dig)
silo pit. Just before they were stopping the
excavation the archaeologists uncovered a
circular rock-cut feature. ‘The shape of the
opening is normally associated with Bronze
Age features. […] If it is a Bronze Age silo pit
and full of the original material, it’s going to
be quite a find. Inside it might be environmental evidence of what people ate, stored,
or dumped there.’ The material will be studied by local UoM specialists, but other help
might be needed for dating. For example, if
the archaeologists are sure about the integrity and origin of a sample they can send it
for carbon dating. But, ‘I can’t just send one
piece; I have to send half a dozen for it to
have statistical value,’ said Dr Vella, making
it rigorous but expensive. Dating is vital for
archaeology and other techniques are also
used.
Pottery is a typical dating tool and can be
linked to a particular period. Punic pottery
is different from Roman and Arabic pottery.
Since everything is deposited in reverse or-
THINK FEATURE
der, it is the bottom layer that usually gives a
site’s earliest date.
Pottery can even be used to date a wall.
For example, to date its construction, ‘I will
analyse and date the pottery that ended up
in the construction of its foundations. Usually bedrock is cut, the wall is placed in that
trench and, if we are lucky, the workmen
would have thrown in their pottery together with other rubbish. We look at the latest
pottery in the trench fill and if it’s from the
4th century bc, we can safely say that the site
is from this period or later,’ said Dr Vella.
The Roman Villa had Punic pottery in the
construction fill for some of its walls. An
older structure — possibly a farm — must
have been present and modified.
More accurate than pottery are coins.
Coins from the Roman Imperial period had
the emperor’s face struck into them. A quick
look through Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire by Edward Gibbon quickly gives you
the date of each emperor’s reign. Coins are
much rarer than pottery, and if both are not
present, the archaeologists rely on other dating techniques like carbon dating.
The UoM only runs a one-month excavation every year, but this is followed up by
months of research to write up and process
the collected documentation and material.
All are performed to paint an accurate picture of a site’s history.
“The aim is ‘to train
students with
the basic skills
in archaeological
excavation techniques
and recording
systems’”
Archaeology for Education
This excavation is a student’s practical training. The site ‘is very different from lectures.
[…] We have to apply what we learnt in lectures over here on site,’ said student Luke
Brightwell. The aim is ‘to train students with
the basic skills in archaeological excavation
techniques and recording systems’ said Dr
Vella. Basically, after they graduate the students will be better prepared to handle their
own digs whatever they do afterwards. There
are many types of archaeologists needed to
monitor building projects by the local planning authority (MEPA), the local state heritage regulator and building contrators.
Archaeology also teaches other transferable skills. A dig enables students to build
team-working skills, reports teach writing
and research skills, while presentations
build communication skills. With a bit of
creativity and the ability to put yourself »
The limestone press bed discovered in 2012
33
FEATURE
Students thinking about Archaeology
This dig is a training excavation. The students are being trained to perform archaeological excavations after graduation. I spoke with to three students; below
are their thoughts.
Annalise Agius
B.A. in Archaeology (Hons) (2nd Year)
Annalise is the most enthusiastic student I met. The dig made her fall in love
with archaeology. ‘The course is fantastic.’ Annalise goes further, ‘it gives you
motivation because you know that as soon as you finish your exams you know
you’re going to be here.’ Her enthusiasm is infectious. She loves the opportunity
of this dig to discover Maltese history, but is open minded enough to go abroad
for the right opportunity. Her final words: ‘a student in archaeology must experience a dig to know what archaeology is about. Because once you experience
the dig you either like it or you don’t, but if you like it, it will be fantastic. You just
want to dig, dig, and dig.’
Joseph Grima
B.A. in Archaeology with International Relations (1st Year)
Joseph is a Gozitan student who wakes up every day at 5 a.m., catches the
6 a.m. Gozo ferry to Malta then arrives on site at 7:20 a.m. Joseph grew up
around antiques, ‘my father collects military vehicles and my uncle also collects
antiques. So I grew up conscious of old things, a collector.’ Choosing archaeology
was a no brainer for him. ‘At University I learnt who they [Phoenicians] really
were, why they left their homeland.’ However, he is still uncertain what he will
do with his degree. ‘Too far from where I stand right now, I tend to take it as it
comes. I’ll try my best.’
Luke Brightwell
B.A. in Archaeology with Geography (1st Year)
Luke was going to choose to specialise in geography till he came on site. ‘This
experience caused this change, even the lectures. The way the lectures are given is completely different […] full of information and, for example, the lecturers
show you a picture of an object and then you start discussing the item with
them: its period, its function, its style of decoration, and why, which is a lot more
engaging and practical.’ He also already knows what he wants to do afterwards.
‘I would like to become an archaeologist. Complete my first degree, then do a
Master of Arts to continue broadening my knowledge.’
Students are monitored by Dr Dennis Mizzi (Dept. of Oriental Studies, UoM), Rebecca Farrugia (UoM), and Maxine Anastasi (University of Oxford, UK)
34
THINK FEATURE
Prof. Bonanno raising
awareness with locals
out there, abilities learnt from an Archaeology Degree can be adapted to many other jobs.
Even more exciting, UoM archaeologist
and lecturer Dr Timmy Gambin wants to
plant around 30 olive trees of the Bidnija
variety. This variety is unique to Malta and
is resistant to flies making it pesticide free,
hence organic. They want to reconstruct a
Roman era olive oil extraction system and
build a small teaching museum on campus,
‘a sort of experimental educational archaeology area,’ explained Dr Vella.
Villa of the Future
Dr Vella wants to find a large flag and plant
it near the site. He wants to show what the
UoM’s staff and students are doing. He
wants the people of Żejtun to know about
their history. With Prof. Bonnano, they are
working with local NGO Wirt iż-Żejtun to
raise awareness about the site. The archaeological team regularly gives seminars to
the surrounding community. Ideally, they
would have locals participating in the dig, a
steep challenge.
Wirt iż-Żejtun and the local council
might hold the key to the Villa’s future.
When a site is dug up, material, which perhaps was buried and stable for hundreds of
years, is suddenly exposed to the elements.
The weather has already destroyed the lustre
of the beautiful Roman terracotta tiles exposed in the 1970s.
The excavation could be completed in
two to three years’ time. After excavating a
site, archaeologists usually have two options.
They can either bury the site again, which
needs re-excavation to be shown to the general public or studied further. Otherwise, it
can be sheltered and protected against the
elements. This greatly slows its deteriora-
tion, allowing the public to visit the site, and
the research to continue. Initial steps have
already been made by a conservation project co-ordinated by Prof. JoAnn Cassar and
Roberta De Angelis (Faculty for the Built
Environment, UoM) using funds raised by
the cultural NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa through
the HSBC Malta Foundation.
Local entities could ‘manage the site
through a guardianship deed with the government,’ said Dr Vella. ‘Entities would
take care of the site on behalf of the state.’
The site could pull in tourists and locals
alike. It would revitalise the area through increased tourism and by acting as a teaching
museum. Dr Vella imagines the site being
used to teach physics, biology, and Maltese
history in a fun and living manner. Maybe,
in five years time, I will be driving to take
visiting friends to Malta’s newest visitor attraction: The Roman Villa of Żejtun.
•
2012
35
DISCOVERING
DEPRESSION
TREATMENTS
36
THINK FEATURE
Prof. Giuseppe
Di Giovanni
Over 100 million people suffer from depression. Prof. Giuseppe Di Giovanni talks about his
life’s work on the brain chemical serotonin to find a new treatment for this debilitating disease that
touches so many of us
T
he winter rays of sunlight reflected
off the snow upon Mount Maiella
and the beautiful Adriatic Sea.
They lit up the room where I was
sitting with Dr Esposito (head of
the Neurophysiology unit, Mario Negri Sud,
Italy). On this cold day in February the light
was blinding and it was difficult to make out
my long time friend and colleague. Together
we had studied the brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine vital for love, pleasure,
addiction, and linked to depression — my
research subject.
‘Ennio, I am tired and frustrated, I am increasingly convinced that our in vivo (whole
organism) experimental approach is not the
right one. There is too much variability in
the results and if we really want to understand the cause of depression and find a new
cure we need to get some reproducible data
and change our tactic.’
At that time, I was using glass electrodes
to study changes in the electrical activity
of single neurons in brains. Additionally, I
used a technique (microiontophoresis) that
registers neuron electrical activity and also
applies a very small amount of the drug. In
this way, I could see which brain cell was active and how different chemicals might influence it. Surprisingly, though introduced
in the 1950s, these techniques are still some
of the best ways to study drug effects on a
living brain.
“Changes in the level
of dopamine effect a
person’s reward and
curiosity-seeking
behaviour”
My research focuses on the role of two
brain chemicals, dopamine and serotonin, in
mental disorders. When stimulated neurons
release chemicals (neurotransmitters). I am
interested in dopaminergic neurons which
release dopamine and serotonergic neurons
that release serotonin. Once released, chemicals can pass through the spaces in between
neurons and bind to another neuron stimulating or inhibiting it. They bind on proteins
called receptors. When they do, they trigger
the cell to fire or shut down. By triggering
certain neurons in our brains, they reinforce
or change our behaviour.
Dopamine is involved in the pleasure
pathway. It switches on for behaviours like
emotional responses, locomotion, and reinforcing good feelings. Changes in the level
of dopamine effect a person’s reward and
curiosity-seeking behaviour, like sex and addictive drugs. On the other hand, serotonin
seems to have a more subtle role. One of serotonin’s major roles is to modulate or control the effects of other neurotransmitters,
such as dopamine. In the words of Carew, a
Yale researcher, ‘Serotonin is only one of »
37
FEATURE
the molecules in the orchestra. But rather
than being the trumpet or the cello player,
it’s the band leader who choreographs the
output of the brain.’ The belief that serotonin is the brain’s ‘happy chemical’, that low
serotonin levels cause depression and antidepressants work by boosting it is a very simplistic view. In truth, no one knows exactly
how dopamine and serotonin levels induce
depression.
A lot of what we do know is because of
animal research. The animals used to model
this disease are given antidepressants to try
and understand how effective they are and
how they work. By studying their brains we
can start to comprehend what causes depression. Right now we do not understand the
whole picture behind the causes of depression and patients end up receiving inadequate treatment. We still do not understand
how many psychoactive drugs actually work,
meaning that more research is needed.
38
Most drugs were discovered by chance
while being used to treat other disorders. For
example, the antidepressant Iproniazid was
originally developed to fight tuberculosis.
“We still do not
understand how
many psychoactive
drugs actually work,
meaning that more
research is needed”
After the researchers saw less depression
in patients suffering from tuberculosis they
started prescribing it to depressed patients.
In another example from the 1950s, cli-
nicians discovered the first tricyclic antidepressant while searching for new drugs
against other mental diseases.
Today, we fortunately have a battery of
drugs that can treat depression. Unfortunately, the best drugs on the market only
completely alleviate symptoms in 35 to 40
percent of patients compared to 15 to 20
percent taking a placebo (a sugar pill), a
fact not publicised in pharmaceutical ads.
Another problem is that when people begin
taking antidepressants, mood changes can
take four weeks or more to appear. This delay in action is one of the major limitations
of these medications since it prolongs the
impairments associated with depression,
increases the risk of suicide, the probability
that a patient stops treatment, and medical
costs. To tackle these problems pharmaceutical companies and academic researchers
want to find more effective and faster acting
antidepressant drugs.
THINK FEATURE
Ennio and I, together with Vincenzo Di
Matteo and other researchers at the Mario
Negri have tried to resolve the antidepressant lag time enigma by studying rats. We
first inhibited the levels of serotonin for 3
weeks using the latest Selective Serotonin
Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) named fluoxetine, sertraline, and citalopram. Then we
measured the electrical activity of dopamine and serotonin neurons in rat brains.
We discovered that the therapeutic effect
of antidepressants is not only due to their
capacity to restore a normal
level of serotonin activity. It also induces
adaptive mechanisms in the dopaminergic
system (that releases dopamine) because of
repeated treatment.
How do SSRI’s treat depression? At first,
these chemicals only slightly stimulate serotonin release. Long-term treatment kicks
in an adaptive process. The receptor type
located on serotonergic neurons which inhibit serotonin activity become insensitive.
Repeated treatment frees serotonin neurons
from this ‘brake’. By repeatedly using these
drugs (with a lag time of 2–8 weeks), the levels of serotonin being transmitted increase
and stay high for a longer time which is responsible for the SSRIs antidepressive effect.
The perfect antidepressant could lie in
blocking the activity of these receptors since
there would be no major delay in action.
This hypothesis was confirmed by Francesco
Artigas and his research group (University
of Barcelona). They administered pindololo, a drug capable of blocking these serotonin receptors, and observed an increase of
the antidepressive effect of the drugs paroxetine and fluvoxamine. They worked by reducing the latency period. Patients on pindololo did noticeably better and the clinical
data matched that from laboratory animals.
Blocking this type of serotonin »
39
FEATURE
Although depression
affects a large number
of people it is still either
undiagnosed or treated
inadequately and
inappropriately.
People with abnormal
functions of brain
serotonin are more likely
to become depressed,
especially when exposed to
psychosocial stress.
Major depressive disorder
has a lifetime prevalence
of 20% for females and 10%
for males.
Unipolar depression will
become the second ranking global cause of
illness-related disability
by 2020 according to the
World Health Organisation.
Depression can be treated
by around eight classes
of antidepressants which
include over 20 different
compounds.
Half of depressive
individuals do not respond
to antidepressant use and
their symptoms persist.
40
receptors can be a promising therapy to
reduce the latency period and possibly, increase antidepressant action.
My colleagues and I formed an alternative hypothesis as to why the clinical effects
of drugs are delayed for so long focusing
our attention on the dopaminergic system.
We showed that acute administration of
different SSRIs reduces the electrical activity of dopaminergic neurons, which release
dopamine. These drugs increase the levels
of serotonin, which decrease dopaminergic neuronal activity (which release dopamine) by over stimulating another inhibitory serotonin receptor this time located
on dopaminergic cells. The result? The
drugs taken to cure depression paradoxically initially induce a reduction of dopamine,
which is meant to be the neurotransmitter
of well-being and happiness! Indeed, SSRIs
can worsen the depression of patients in
the first few weeks of treatment.
When the drugs are used over a long
period of time (3–4 weeks), the initial re-
Prof. Di Giovanni and Massimo Pierucci at
the Neurophysiology Lab, Department of
Physiology and Biochemistry
duction of dopamine reverses. The change
happens because the repeated treatment reduces the sensitivity of this type of serotonin receptor on dopaminergic cells freeing
them from their serotonin ‘brake’.
“I have spent my
life trying to figure
out the role of
dopamine and
serotonin in the
brain”
We think we have found the reason why
SSRI antidepressants take so long to work.
Two different serotonin receptors need to
become insensitive to the level of seroto-
nin in the brain, one found on serotonergic cells, the other on dopaminergic cells.
Their insensitivity allows the activity of
dopaminergic neurons to return to normal
even though the serotonin activity has been
bumped up.
Other labs have confirmed our results,
which is vital step for a theory to become
fact. Cremer and his team (University of
Groningen, Netherlands) have shown that
blocking the same type of serotonin receptor on dopaminergic cells in rats can improve the effect of SSRIs antidepressants.
Ultimately all of our work has made it possible to consider new treatments of depression, which I am very happy to see.
Many questions remain unanswered
about depression. The most urgent task is to
find a more effective way to treat it. This is
my goal, I have spent my life trying to figure
out the role of dopamine and serotonin in
the brain — with some notable successes. I
hope to see the next generation of antidepressants which would improve the life of
121 million depression sufferers.
Ennio listened to me as I expressed my
frustration after once again obtaining conflicting results in the laboratory. ‘Giuseppe’
he said ‘You are right, billions of neurons in
our brain behave differently, but as Douglas
Adams said, ‘If you try and take a cat apart to
see how it works, the first thing you have on
your hands is a nonworking cat. Life is a level of complexity that almost lies outside our
vision’ (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy). If
we want to break the code of the brain and
hope to treat its diseases we need to take a
holistic approach that takes the whole brain
into account.
•
Article dedicated to the prominent
researcher Dr Ennio Esposito, Prof. Di
Giovanni’s (Department of Physiology and
Biochemistry, UoM) colleague and friend.
In 2011, he died of a heart attack. During
his last years, he suffered from a severe
refractory bipolar depression. If interested in
an M.Sc. or Ph.D. in biological psychiatry
please contact Prof. Giuseppe Di Giovanni on
giuseppe.digiovanni@um.edu.mt
FURTHER READING
• Bortolato M., Pivac N., Muck Seler
D., Nikolac Perkovic M., Pessia
M., Di Giovanni G., (2013). The role
of the serotonergic system at
the interface of aggression and
suicide. Neuroscience, 236:160185.
• Di Giovanni G., Esposito E.,
Di Matteo V., (2011). ‘5-HT2C
Receptors in the Pathophysiology
of CNS Disease’ Springer, New
York.
• Di Giovanni G., Di Matteo V.,
Esposito E., (2008). ‘SerotoninDopamine Interaction:
Experimental and Therapeutic
Evidence. Progress in Brain
Research, 172. Elsevier,
Netherlands.
• Depression — The Dana Guide
http://bit.ly/DaNaG
• Depression — National Institute
of Mental health, USA http://bit.
ly/NIHMHd
41
Dr Vasilis Valdramidis
42
Music
for Clean
Food
THINK FEATURE
Everyone eats. Eating food straight out of a packet is the norm in our fast-paced world —
a simple fact that makes food science ever more important. We need safe food.
THINK met up with researcher Dr Vasilis Valdramidis to find out about the latest
tech. Words by The Editor
F
ood safety is serious business. In
Germany during 2011 a single
bug hospitalised over 4,000
people causing 53 deaths. Scientists learnt afterwards that a
strain of E. coli had picked up the ability to
produce Shiga toxins. These natural chemicals cause dysentery or bloody diarrhoea.
The bacteria were living on fresh vegetables
and it took German health officials over
a month to figure out which farm was responsible.
On the 2 May, German health authorities announced a deadly strain of bacteria in
food. By the 26 May, they pointed their finger at cucumbers coming from Spain. They
were wrong. The mistake cost the EU over
€300 million in farmer reimbursements.
Genetic tests found that the bacterium
on cucumbers was different than the one
which was killing people. The researchers
continued to ask people who were infected
what they ate: raw tomatoes, cucumbers,
and lettuce remained the prime suspects.
Till they tested organic local bean sprouts
from a farm in Bienenbüttel, Lower Saxony.
By the 10 June, the farm was forced to shut
down after it was pinpointed as the source.
The sprouts were contaminated from the
seeds’ source in Egypt.
‘These bean sprouts are found in several ready-to-eat foods, you could have it in
your sandwich and not realise that you’re
eating it,’ said food scientist Dr Vasilis
Valdramidis (University of Malta). This is
the reason why it took German officials so
long to find the source. Having to rely on
people’s memory of what they ate before
Pre-washing
becoming sick, something as inconspicuous
and mild tasting as a bean sprout can be forgotten. Precisely why industrial food safety
is so important: it saves lives.
Cleaning food
‘There is no natural sterile environment,’ stated Dr Valdramidis who studies new ways to
disinfect ready-to-eat lettuce, cabbage, and
bean sprouts to make our food safe. Most
bacteria come from nature or during »
Disinfecting food
traditionally
Rinsing
Chlorine (Cl2)
Chlorine Dioxide (ClO2)
Washing tank
43
FEATURE
handling. ‘After harvesting, there are 3 different steps for processing fresh produce.
First, they are washed to remove all external
material. Second, there is the disinfection
process. […] Third, they apply a decontamination treatment that most commonly is
chlorinated water.’
Dissolving chlorine dioxide powder into
water makes most of the industrial chlorinated water. Chlorine is found in tap water
so is relatively harmless at low concentrations, but ‘the less we have of this chemical
the better for our health, because there are
some side effects,’ explained Dr Valdramidis. ‘It can react with the organic substances
of food products and produce some compounds […] that aren’t healthy.’
The environment is another problem.
Chlorinated water ends up in ground water
or other water sources. Elevated levels of
chlorine can decontaminate vegetables but
also natural habitats.
Dr Valdramidis’ group works to reduce
the amount of chemicals, water, and energy
used. Fresh water is a precious resource with
less than 3% of the world’s water being fresh.
In Malta, pressures on fresh water use are intense and the country is facing a little known
water crisis. Worldwide energy efficiency is a
hot issue, with both environmentalists and
industry pushing for greater efficiency and
cheaper energy bills.
44
From Oregano to Music
The herb oregano can be concentrated with
its essential oils extracted. Surprisingly, at
the right concentration oregano slows bug
growth. Dr Valdramidis’ group is taking
advantage of this antimicrobial effect to disinfect vegetables. ‘And it tastes better, but it
depends on the amount; if you use too much
it is bitter.’
“Fresh water is a
precious resource
with less than 3% of
the world’s water
being fresh”
The food industry’s bottom line is cost.
‘The extraction process is quite expensive
but now the price is going down. [The food
industry already] use oregano oil as antimicrobial agents in feeding products for animals. Their aim is to reduce the use of antibiotics. It [oregano] is becoming more and
more accessible.’
Oregano oil might be more expensive,
but it is a natural product that is non-tox-
ic. Another advantage is that, ‘if the plant
cells are relaxed then these essential oils
can penetrate’ into the plant disinfecting it
thoroughly. Once optimised, it could easily
replace chlorine water, reducing the amount
of damaging chemicals used.
Oregano could replace chlorine water,
but what about the amount of water? Another technique, which uses sound to clean
food, could help. Think about ultrasounds
used to scan pregnant women. Those ‘operate on megahertz and create images, this
[technology] operates on kilohertz and is
powerful enough to create physical changes
at a microscale’, which means they are high
power systems. It works by pulsing sound
waves at your submerged vegetable or fruit
of choice. The sound creates bubbles that
implode, creating a very high pressure and
temperature. This energy can kill the bacteria. When Dr Valdramidis gets it right, it
cleans the vegetable.
The process is even more extraordinary.
The sound wave causes ‘a molecule of water
to split and create [the molecules] hydrogen peroxide and other radicals, which are
very unstable’ so they react with everything
around them (including bacterial DNA), either becoming water again or attacking cells.
‘They affect the membrane of the bacterial
cell,’ said Dr Valdramidis, ‘killing it.’ They
can also damage plant cells, so the technique
THINK FEATURE
needs fine-tuning to get it right. By measuring the appearance, amount of vitamins,
enzymes, and other nutrients lost by the
procedure, researchers can tweak it to maximise its antimicrobial value and minimise
its damage to the vegetable. To continue
improving the technique a lot of his work is
spent trying to understand exactly how the
procedure works and why the bacteria die.
The ultrasound still needs water to work.
Water cannot be removed from the equation
because bubbles can only form in water and
sound also travels better. Water quantity can
be reduced. When using chlorinated water,
another step is needed to rinse off the chlorine. In this case, it can be skipped. There is
an even more radical technique that might
bypass water altogether.
“The sound
creates bubbles
that implode,
creating a
very high
pressure and
temperature”
A lightning storm
Plasma is made up of ionised air. In nature,
plasma is made by lightning, leaving a tell
tale ozone smell. Food scientists can pass
high frequency electricity through air to
create a bacteria-killing plasma stream.
Ionised air kills bacteria because it forms
radicals and ozone. Electric discharges create
radicals and turn oxygen into highly reactive
oxygen radicals (an unstable oxygen atom)
or ozone (3 oxygen atoms joined together).
These products can react with bacteria and
inactivate them. Like sound waves they can
also affect food. ‘High levels of ozone can
bleach food by oxidising the product. There
is no ideal technology,’ stated Dr Valdramidis. The difficulty in all of this is how to
kill the bacteria and not the plant. Everyone
wants salads with a nice colour, good flavour, and high nutritional value.
On the other hand, the beauty of this
technique is that you can zap the food in its
packet. So imagine just rinsing the food with
a little water, wrapping it up, and finishing
off the cleaning process with an electric
pulse. The package can be delivered to your
local grocer with minimal use of water and
your mind at rest. Both sound waves and
plasma could also spell the end of excessive
chemical treatments.
A computer model of a fruit
Measuring microbe levels is the only certain way to know if food is safe. Traditional
methods are labour intensive, time consuming, and expensive. Scientists first need to
remove the bacteria from the product, then
dilute the bacteria, then count the cells directly with plate counting techniques or
under a microscope. More modern techniques use molecular methods such as PCR
(Polymerase Chain Reaction) to find out
the specific type of bacteria. This can make a
huge difference since not all bugs are created
equal.
To reduce costs and speed up the process,
Dr Valdramidis uses mathematical models
to predict the shelf life of products and apply the right decontamination process. ‘We
want to predict the amount of bacteria present, so with these equations we are trying to
describe how fast the bacteria are inactivated then [how fast those that survive] grow,’
explained Dr Valdramidis. The number of
bacteria predicts food safety and how fast it
rots. »
45
FEATURE
For mathematical modelling to work, first
‘data needs to be collected […] by performing some experiments. Then I try to describe
how the population responds and behaves
using these equations. If I can verify this
model, then I can come to you and tell you,
‘look, this product has these specific characteristics, within the range of this model,
I can tell you that it will expire in 15 days
and you don’t need to do any experiments.’
It’s a very powerful tool but it has to be well
validated.’ It saves a ton of money, but you
must be sure of the model otherwise people
could be harmed.
Current maths has its limits. Scientists
are still trying to correctly model a single
cell. Plant or bacterial cells are complicated machines, with proteins, DNA, and
other molecules all jam-packed together
working synchronously for a cell’s survival and reproduction. To make things
easier, scientists simplify cells when simulating them then consider a whole group
of them, a population. Researchers test
the whole population. If Dr Valdramidis’
group attempts to model a single bacterial cell’s growth in Malta, he would have to
use the University’s supercomputer called
46
ALBERT. Maths on this level uses a lot of
computational power.
Taking the cell modelling idea to its extreme, some food scientists are trying to
model every plant cell to make a complete
fruit — a virtual fruit. They model, ‘the exchange of gases and so on since fruit is still
respiring, still alive after harvesting.’ To control the respiration process, they ‘try to control the amount of [the hormone] ethylene,
oxygen gas, and so on.’ They also use these
models to simulate modified atmospheres
around food seeing how they influence respiration rates. Shelf life is affected by plastic
packages with different holes sizes, types of
plastic, and other parameters. All of these
properties are pumped into the mathematical equations and tweaked to maximise shelf
life. ‘If you slow rates down, the food lasts
longer and can be stored for a longer period,’ explained Dr Valdramidis, which makes
both companies and consumers happy.
Working with industry
Dr Valdramidis is young but has a long career
in fundamental research. He has modelled
and tested the rate of bacterial growth (and
inactivation) at changing temperatures, and
even investigated how to decontaminate biofilms in industrial food processing plants.
Importantly, he has looked into quantifying
and speeding up the analysis of microbial
levels on food to give an actual ‘best before’
date. His approach always coupled experiments to test his maths and predictions.
Innovations in food science aim to bring
down prices, use less water, fewer chemicals, and less energy. For these reasons, Dr
Valdramidis is now at a stage where he can
collaborate with industrial partners. In Malta, he has already met with the Chamber of
Commerce through the creation of a Food
Industrial Advisory Platform. With this
platform ‘we plan to organise workshops
every 6 months. Once to speak about our activities and another to speak about subjects
that are of interest to SMEs [Small to Medium Enterprise, or industry].’ Malta is run by
food SMEs; they account for 65% of GDP.
Researchers need to work with industry
— a statement on everyone’s bucket list. Its
importance cannot be understated, since
it is unlikely that universities will receive
substantially more research funds unless
businesses start seeing these institutions as
partners. And, they could save or make big
bucks by investing in research. Dr Valdramidis’ work is a clear call for collaboration.
Working with others is what drew Dr
Valdramidis to Malta. ‘I firmly believe in
collaboration. A lot of my [research] publications are not just from the university I
would be working in but others as well.’ By
opening arms wide open perhaps we can
prevent mistakes, like those of the German
health authorities, invest in research that
reduces waste, and cleans our food just by
playing a song at the right energy.
•
Some of the above research is supported by a
Marie Curie FP7-Reintegration-Grant within the 7th European Community Framework
Programme under the project ‘Development of
novel Disinfection Technologies for Fresh Produce
(DiTec)’, and part-funded by the Malta Government Scholarship Scheme.
THINK ALUMNI
ALUMNI talk
From cancer research to managing Malta’s largest companies, to opening
your own ICT business, life after University can be fun
Developing new cancer treatments
TESSABELLE SULTANA talks about her journey from studying chromosomes to researching
cancer vaccines
THE LAB IS my second home, with the
rugby pitch a close third. My fascination with
lab work and science started when I visited
Tays Hospital in Finland. It was during my
bachelor degree in Medical Laboratory
Science. This three-month placement
helped me choose cytogenetics for my final
year project. My work involved developing
a technique to allow for doctors to better
manage sporadic and recurrent miscarriage
patients.
My interest in cytogenetics (the study
of chromosomes where genes are found)
evolved to genetics, when I started working
at the biotech company MLS BioDNA Ltd.
This laboratory focused on the testing of
inherited diseases, paternity and forensics,
as well as food and water microbiology.
Working in a diagnostic laboratory was very
satisfying but I had always wanted to pursue
research. So I moved to Sheffield to read for
a Masters in Molecular Medicine, with the
help of the Malta Government Scholarship
Postgraduate Scheme (MGSS). My
intention was to just stay for the course and
return home, however, my current supervisor
offered me a 10-month contract to work in a
molecular microbiology lab. This was a very
pleasant experience, and encouraged me to
pursue a Ph.D. I received a scholarship for
a Ph.D. in Immunology at the University of
Sheffield, which I am currently working on.
Vaccines can prevent certain infectious
diseases. Potentially, they can also treat
cancer. Vaccines today are based on small
proteins, which by themselves do not elicit
a strong immune response. To treat cancer
a strong response is needed. Immunological
adjuvants that amplify the immune response
are used to accomplish this. However, no one
really understands how these adjuvants work.
For my Ph.D., I am part of a research group
that focuses on an immunological adjuvant
which increases the immune response by
over 1,000 times. Understanding how these
adjuvants work will pave the way to more
targeted treatments and fewer side effects.
My job is to understand which immune
cells are responsible for this effect. The
adjuvant has been shown pre-clinically to
be effective in B cell lymphoma, a type of
cancer of the blood that originates in the
lymph glands. Patients are currently treated
with the drug Rituximab which depletes
certain immune cells called B cells. If our
treatment requires other immune cells to
work, it can be used in addition to therapies
such as Rituximab.
Although a Ph.D. is something which I
really wanted to do, it was still a shock to
my system. Scientific research can be very
frustrating as long hours and hard work do
not necessarily translate into results. In spite
of this, the long-term goal of this project
keeps me going making the sweat and tears
worth it.
•
47
TOP TIPS
TO SUCCEED
by Antionette Caruana
My family remains my priority, though
they may not believe this. My career has
helped shape me. The following are the
best values that have made a difference
to who I am.
Have a dream and go
for it… Make it happen.
Believe that no one owes
anyone a living. If you
falter, try again.
Work with others.
Be as good as you can in
what you do.
Always have a passion
for learning in everything
you do. Keep your eyes
and ears open. Be aware
of what is happening and
contribute.
Keep true to your values.
Tell people who have
made a difference to your
life that they have, and
treasure them.
Say sorry at work, at
home, and invest time to
build trust and
commitment.
Be a good example by
working long and hard.
Sometimes you will be
tired and grumpy but pick
yourself up and move
forward.
Invest in relationships
which really matter.
48
Going for it… and all it takes!
ANTIONETTE CARUANA shares her successful career
from banks to food manufacturing companies
FEMALE, OVER 50 years old,
raising two young adults (who think their
mum is technologically challenged and old),
a patient and supportive husband (partner
for over 24 years), encouraging parents, and
friends and family who have been there for
me whenever needed. These qualities are
the critical aspects of my life which is full,
overflowing, sometimes exhausting but truly
rewarding. My first job was nearly 35 years
ago, and the years have flown by.
Many opportunities were opened by starting
my career at a local bank after my first degree at
the University of Malta, B.A. (Hons) in Business Management. At the same time, I married
my husband who gave me more enthusiasm.
My studies opened up a great interest in understanding the role of people in organisations,
management, strategy, and performance.
Then I changed my job. Soon after I got
married, I took the plunge and joined Playmobil entering a career that lasted more than
13 years. During this time, I learnt so much
about business, running an organisation,
and people management. The job was challenging and needed long hours with some
tears and a dose of determination to succeed,
but I could make things happen.
During my job at Playmobil, I had two
children, completed my Masters’ degree
and also got involved in many opportunities
outside Playmobil including the Federation
of Industry, the Foundation for Human
Resources Development, the Richmond
Foundation and worked with different departments of the public sector. I also took
on different projects and lectured at University to keep in touch with students (the
employees of the future) and academics (the
launchpad of innovation and debate).
Being an idealist who is obsessed about
achieving results, I sought my next challenge: to make a difference by taking a leading role. I applied to head Heritage Malta as
THINK ALUMNI
CEO and was chosen. The team was
extremely committed to preserving
and managing Malta’s unbelievable
heritage. We did some great things
together like keeping museums open
7 days a week and put up the shelters
over the Neolithic temples of Ħaġar
Qim and Mnajdra. Following that, I
worked with Lufthansa Technik Malta when this organisation was quickly growing on the island. Currently,
I work with the Farsons Group as
Company Secretary and Group HR
manager. Being part of the senior
management team of one of the long
established and most successful local
group of companies is another very
rewarding experience and continues
to provide me with enthusiasm, ambition, and pride.
Nobody is an island and networking is vital. You need it to work with
other organisations, to continue learning, to contribute, and to be part of a
country’s culture. Networking gave me
confidence and helped open up opportunities. I have served as director
at the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) and until recently the
Central Bank of Malta. Before that
I served on MEUSAC and also on
MPVQAC. The list is very long and
I was in touch with various sectors of
society from youths to industry. These
experiences have touched my life and
enriched me.
Now I’d like to talk about being a
woman on the job. First off, do not
let this make a difference to how you
behave since your skills, competence,
and professionalism matter. Going for
a career demands a strong partnership
at home, but I believe that if a woman
is good at what she has chosen to do,
she would have the sheer determination to succeed by finding those critical opportunities. In Malta, I already
see a number of successful women in
many spheres. And I hope we will see
even more.
•
Ships to Computers
KEITH FEARNE talks
to us about his work and
success in the ICT business
world
IN 1991, when the first DOS-based PCs
started to become available, I graduated
from the University of Malta after having
read for a degree in Electrical Engineering.
The Internet and mobile telephones still
had not appeared.
There were no ICT courses at the UoM.
Engineering courses were the closest I
could come to entering this field. Teaching of computer science was therefore
obviously limited, but at least we recieved
a fair amount of computer architecture
and networking theory. We also built our
first processor boards, and wrote our first
code in assembly language. The Dean was
not thrilled when I approached him to
announce that I wanted a ‘software only’
thesis, a first. But I got away with it, and
built a software driver for a LAN card, a
networking card, using a programming
language called Modula 2.
When I graduated my computing future
did not look bright. I was tied by a twoyear contract with Malta Shipbuilding, to
whom I was assigned during the student
worker scheme. I had spent three summers
working there managing a team of electrical technicians, which toughened me. After this experience, managing teams should
have been relatively easy.
During my last months at University I
decided that I wanted to enter the IT world.
I started shopping around for a job while
doing some teaching at a private school. I
landed a job at the software company Megabyte as a systems engineer and decided to
end my contract at Shipbuilding paying the
required financial penalties. Financially not
the best decision but best for my career.
After seven years at Megabyte , I moved
on to become the CEO of the Internet
company Maltanet. I spent 8 years running
the company. In Malta, during this time the
Internet market was growing exponentially. The pace of technology accelerated tremendously making it a very exciting time
within a highly competitive environment.
When GO was fully privatised we merged
all the subsidiaries and I spent nearly 3
years as Chief Commercial Officer for the
group. Managing the commercial portfolio
of a quad play operator was an instructive
and rewarding challenge.
Today I run my own firm called ICT
solutions. In 2009 I set up a joint venture
focused on two areas, ICT servicing and
software development. It employs a team
of over 20 people, mostly UoM graduates.
They provide solutions to cater for the ever
growing ICT requirements of the corporate world.
So what lessons have I learnt? Firstly,
there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution and
everyone needs to build on their strengths.
Secondly, you need to put in long hours. If
you do not work harder than your normal
9 to 5 employee, then you will remain a
normal 9 to 5 employee. Thirdly, you need
to keep abreast and understand technology cycles and where the market is going.
Be technically competent but appreciate
business logic. Fourthly, and most importantly, relate to people and build relationships with your team and clients.
•
49
FUN
BOOK REVIEW
by The Editor
. 99.
100
6. 4
7. 4
. 51. 50. 49. 4 8. 4
4
5. 4
41. 40. 3
42.
9.
3.
.4
98
.9
. 93. 92 1. 90. 8
. 94
9.
. 95
8
96
7.
9
.
. 76. 75. 74. 73. 7
. 77
2.
7
78
1
.7
9.
0.
69 .
6 8. 67,
66
65, 64. 63. 6
2.
38. 37
9
. 36
61
.
1.
. 25
.6
. 34. 33. 32. 31. 30
.
. 83. 82.
5. 84
81.
6. 8
80
.8
.7
87
8.
52
.2
28. 27. 26. 2 5
, .
4 . 23. 22. 2
.
56. 55. 54.
53.
2
Bad
Pharma
20. 19. 1 8. 1 7
. 16
. 1 5. 14. 13
. 11. 10. 9.
12
8
. 7 . 6. 5. 4
0. 59. 58
.5
2. 1
7.
3.
100
WORD
ideas to
change
MALTA
An Alternative
Currency
by MARIO FRENDO
Malta — a tiny Island, a minute social
reality, a precursory canovaccio of European unification — has a unique asset it ought to be prouder of: Culture.
For millennia our bonsai place has
attracted a continuum of passing civilisations leaving behind them a most
colourful and diverse compendium of
customs, behaviours, artistic expressions, and intellectual attitudes. Malta’s investment in this unique legacy
should not be limited to conservation.
It needs to be kept alive through constant support of the contemporary expression of its youth. This attitude will
certainly transform our Culture into a
most effective and efficient currency of
change and growth.
•
50
Ben Goldacre
THE AUTHOR Dr Ben Goldacre
is on a mission. The 600$ billion pharmaceutical industry, some doctors, regulators, medical journals, and whole governments should be trembling. Goldacre
wants to show the truth behind how our
medicines are made. He wants transparent
companies, properly informed patients,
solid research, and cheap, effective drugs,
preferably for all.
In typical Goldacre style, he rants. Ignore the apparent chip on his shoulder.
His statements are thoroughly based on
facts. The facts are shockingly scary.
Take the drug Tamiflu, the supposed
miracle cure for flu. The pharmaceutical
company Roche made over €500 million
in 2009 on the back of the swine flu scare.
The drug is known to reduce flu symptoms by a few hours, a hefty price tag for
a spot of relief. Initially, Roche said that it
reduces complications by 68%, amazing!
Though when the gold standard reviewer
Cochrane started scratching the surface
they hit a brick wall. Roche refuses to
publish data requested years ago and we
still do not know how effective it is.
Even regulators get it wrong by being
too business friendly or opaque. Diabetes
drug Rosiglitazone was recently taken off
the market after over 10 years of intimidating researchers who published data
against the drug in 1999. Rosiglitazone
increases heart problems by 43%. Regulators failed to share data transparently,
which slowed action, an endemic problem.
Pharma has even failed cancer patients
by stopping trials early to make drugs look
better. Trials can also be run longer than
needed to fuzz data. Goldacre lists endless
examples to buttress his arguments.
Companies spend double on marketing
drugs compared to research. In the US
they can reach and influence consumers
directly irrespective of efficacy, price, or
need. Where direct marketing is banned,
companies shift budgets and reach doctors
through drug reps, people whose job it is to
convince medics that their company’s drug
is the best. Pharma even disguises marketing as research fooling doctors and wasting
their time. Well-respected doctors are also
paid handsomely to talk about products.
Apart from scandalous facts, Goldacre is
a master of explaining science simply and
clearly. Chapter 2 has a great introduction
on how drugs are made. He clearly explains
the difference between relative risk or absolute risk, or how bias and probability are
manipulated by pharmaceuticals. His lucid
style makes this book a great read and well
recommended for anyone wanting to know
the dirty secrets behind pill manufacturing.
Thankfully, Goldacre also suggests how
it could be solved. My only advice is not
to debunk the whole system when reading this book, remember the good stuff:
life-saving antibiotics, disease eradicating
vaccines and much more. The current
system just needs some serious tweaking
to remove the bad loop holes Big Pharma
exploit to meet profit margins. But drug
research has to go on.
•
GAME REVIEW
by Costantino Oliva
Hotline Miami
Production:
Dennaton Games
Platform:
Windows, Mac
PUSH START. Grab a weapon. Get
shot. Repeat... ad infinitum. ‘Punishing’
hardly describes a session of Hotline Miami. Typically, within 10 seconds you
could die three or four times. It is just as
frustrating as it is challenging. Addictive-
ly, you will not give up until you pass that
sneaky little passage.
Hotline Miami is an ultra-violent, psychotic game, where your only aim is to
kill all the ‘bad guys’. Yet, every little move
counts, and deciding which weapons to use
or which door to open first will reveal the
deep strategic possibilities of the game’s
intense experience. As you make your way
through a pile of corpses, the suspense
builds up to unbearable levels as you risk
losing all in-game progress for just a little
mistake. The massacre is only interrupted
by brief moments that reveal details of our
mysterious ‘hero’s’ back-story. Keeping true
FACT or FICTION?
Can AI ever
become sentient?
Asked by Malcolm Bonnici
«»
There is hope, there is fear, but no
solid answers. Many bicker on the definition of artificial intelligence (AI), computers, robots, machines, and being sentient. If
your definition of sentience includes being
conscious, arguments can be bogged down
in whether material objects can ever become conscious.
In 1950, Alan Turing circumvented the
problem by suggesting the Turing test. If
a human cannot distinguish between a
computer and human then the computer
has achieved sentience. The illusion of sentience is enough for Turing. The argument
has its flaws, but with the US starting a
brain-mapping project and the EU recently launching a billion euro project to simulate the human brain with supercomputers,
artificial sentience could become reality.
And, the next inevitable question would
be: would they take over the world?
to expectation, even these interludes are
awkward if not disturbing, and hardly shed
light on our displaced, faceless avatar.
The excellent game tops it all with an
irresistible ‘80s aesthetics and a neurotic
electronic soundtrack. You’ll quickly find
out why this game has stolen the show
winning so many awards, and has hooked
fans of Grand Theft Auto and of good old
shoot’em up games. Hotline Miami is a joy
in repetition, providing that being stuck
in a Clockwork Orange-like scenario is your
idea of joy.
•
www.hotlinemiami.com
Send your questions to think@um.edu.mt
and we’ll find out if it’s the truth or just a fib!
CAN YOU DIE OF
BOREDOM?
«»
A tricky question since boredom is a
mental state. Usually it is triggered by an uninspiring, monotonous environment and/or
certain brain chemicals like dopamine (for
more on this chemical see page 36). People
who produce less dopamine, or are less sensitive to it, are bored more easily.
People bored for a very long time can
suffer from clinical depression, which
surely reduces lifespan. Other boredom
sufferers have ADHD (attention deficit
hyperactive disorder) and extreme ways of
combating boredom can be equally dangerous. They could abuse drugs and alcohol or seek thrills in risky sports. Others
could become sexually promiscuous. All of
these behaviours reduce lifespan.
51
EVENINGS
on campus
27 July - 10 August
www.um.edu.mt/events/eveningsoncampus
* kkumalta@gmail.com
 7984 3480
THINK FUN
FILM REVIEW
by Noel Tanti
Mama
ELECTRICITY HAS KILLED the
ghost story,’ said author Ruth Rendell while
commenting on a tale by M. R. James. She
has a point. The ectoplasmic posse thrives on
darkness, occupying those spaces that elude
the intrusive sanctuary of light. Thomas Edison and his light bulb must be the greatest
ghostbusters of all time and Andy Muschietti’s film Mama, one of their latest casualties.
Candlelight encourages unnerving narratives: a flickering flame, after all, choreographs crazy cavorting shadows. And
gaslight creates pools of light amid pitch
blackness, which is why the Golden Age of
the ghost story was between the 1830s and
World War I, when candles and gas were
mostly used.
A trip to the cinema combines all three:
the film is essentially a beacon of moving
shadows (candlelight) on a screen surrounded by obscurity (gaslight) and a source of
electricity (the projector). In a way the cinema offers horror lovers what the ghost writers of old offered to readers: access to the
land of the Bogeyman.
The Bogeyman, or Babau, or El Cuco, or
whatever you want to call it, is scary as hell
because we never get to see him. He is not
really underneath the bed, or inside the closet, or waiting by the wayside to snatch those
pesky children and put them in a sack. Then
again, he might be there, waiting for the right
moment to strike. Ghost stories need this
kind of tension to instil a sense of dread.
Unfortunately, the latest movie trend
is to dispense with tension in favour of a
sedated compromise to appease a mainstream audience. Mama falls into this trap.
The film revolves around the battle between two mums, one alive and one dead.
They are both surrogate mothers as the two
girls’ real parent was killed by their very
anxious dad. The arising conflict drives the
narrative forward but then everything goes
belly-up when the ghost, in all its CGI glo-
“The latest movie trend
is to dispense with
tension in favour of a
sedated compromise to
appease a mainstream
audience”
Film: Mama
«««««
Director: Andy Muschietti
Certification: PG-13
Release: 22 February 2013 (UK)
Spook rating: 66666
ry, takes centre stage. And, of course, CGI
is all electricity.
Once the ghost of Edith Brennan becomes a central figure in the story (visually), the excellent sense of amassed dread
all but disappears. Instead, CGI wizardry
takes over: magnificent wraithlike tendrils of ghostly garb, creepy head tilted at
a slightly awkward angle, a face that might
stretch and scream at any moment, giving
us the intended scare. We are shown too
much. Movies such as Paranormal Activity
(2007) and The Innkeepers (2011) take a
better approach by creating and sustaining
suspense by only showing the bare essentials. They leave you gripping your seat.
So: is Mama any good? Well, yes, in
an average-film kind of way. But there is
definitely no need to watch it with your
lights on.
•
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jessica
Chastain, Megan Charpentier and
Isabelle Nélisse in Mama
53
CULTURE
Story Works
The craft of weaving great stories
Jean Pierre Magro from the Valletta 2018 foundation writes about a great opportunity for
writers over the next 5 years
S
tories have flourished throughout the inhabited world, at all
times, and under every circumstance. They have inspired the
activities of the human body
and mind, defined groups and held them
together. Stories have guided humanity. Sitting around their campfires, through stories
humans learnt how to be warriors, farmers,
mothers, sons, and good citizens. Stories
brought order to a world fraught with chaos.
They gave answers to timeless questions that
have haunted humans since the very beginning; “Who am I? Why am I here? What is
good and what is evil? What will tomorrow be
like? Where did yesterday go? Is there anybody
else out there?”
As G. K. Chesteron tells us, stories “are
more than true — not because they tell us
dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons
can be beaten”.
Joseph Campbell (2004) in his book,
Pathways to Bliss, uses a beautiful analogy to
synthesise our need and appetite for storytelling. Campbell suggests that stories function like the second womb of a kangaroo
54
that protects the young after it is born. In
that pouch, the infant attaches itself to the
mother’s nipple until it is able to crawl out
and walk.
In that same nurturing manner, stories
help us develop.
“People are hungry
for stories. It’s part
of our very being.
Storytelling is a
form of history, of
immortality too”
Louis Terkel
The same drive fuels the multi-billion entertainment industry. In Exodus to the Virtual
World, economist Edward Castranova argues
that we have begun the greatest mass migra-
tion in history. People are moving en masse
from the real to the virtual world, interacting
and participating in their narratives.
There has never been a more exciting time
for storytellers. We are living in a time of immense creativity, with new opportunities for
creators appearing nearly every single day.
Whether you’re a filmmaker, writer, cartoonist, journalist, or any other kind of storyteller, it is now easier than ever to deliver
your story to an audience. New platforms
and business models are emerging, gatekeepers are falling and the possibilities are
astounding.
The media world right now is a multiplatform world. People and companies are pushing creativity around this fact. It includes all
aspects of television, from initial development to script writing, from marketing to
distribution, and from technical implementations to audience interaction.
In this revamped world, Malta is still
struggling to find its voice. Film and television productions have failed to cross borders.
Valletta 2018’s primary mission is to be
a long-term catalyst for culture led regener-
THINK CULTURE
ation that sees creative activity as the most
dynamic facet of Malta’s socio-economic
life. Towards this goal, we have invited 3 storytelling heavyweights from the University
of Southern California to share their adventures. David Howard, Martin Daniel and
Mary Kate O’Flanagan will be joining us for
a series of workshops to be held bi-annually
over the next 5 years.
Success is not a random thing. It is no shot
in the dark. Writing is not just art but it is a
mixture of art, creativity, and the science of
writing. Basing their public lectures on the
František Daniel’s Sequence Method and
Aristotle’s Poetics, attendees will be shown
how to dissect and build stories.
We are thrilled to be providing this great
opportunity for talented Maltese writers to
consult and learn from the best, to develop
ideas on a professional level and leave with a
tangible product in hand – a powerful story
with the potential to cross borders.
•
For further information please contact
jeanpierre.magro@valletta2018.org or visit
the website: www.valletta2018.org
From Aristotle to films
Aristotle’s Poetics is, as far as we know, the first ever work of literary theory.
Written in the 4th century bc, it is the work of a scholar who was also a biologist,
and treats literary works with the detached analytical eye of a scientist. Aristotle
examines drama and epic poetry, and how they achieve their effects; he analyses
tragedy and the ways in which it plays on our emotions. Many of the ideas he
articulates, such as catharsis, have remained in our critical vocabulary ever since.
František Daniel was a film director, producer, and screenwriter born in Kolín,
Czechoslovakia. He produced over 40 films, including Ján Kadár’s Oscar-winning
The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na Korze) (1965).
After the Soviet invasion, the prolific filmmaker fled the country and found
refuge in the United States.
Heading the most prestigious film schools (Columbia and University of
Southern California) has been his biggest contribution to filmmaking, particularly
American cinema. David Lynch was one of his protégés who specifically mentions
a special thank you in Eraserhead, 1977.
When Robert Redford founded Sundance Institute in 1981, Daniel was
appointed Artistic Director, a guiding post he held for over a decade.
He continued to develop scripts and work with students until he died on March
29, 1996, at the age of 69.
55
RESEARCH
RIDT news
Dentists on
wheels
The RIDT is supporting a community project that is being spearheaded by the Faculty
of Dental Surgery (University of Malta).
The project should improve the Maltese
population’s quality of life and supply vital
oral health information.
The Mobile Dental Clinic Project
will carry out research through standardised scientifically established methods to
determine the oral health status of Malta.
As a result of scarce epidemiological data,
this particular health status is not known,
although various factors suggest it may be
suboptimal. With such a mobile unit at
hand, the Faculty will be able to study (and
prevent) all areas of oral health. It will be in
an excellent position to reach all sectors of
society, providing routine dental care as an
outreach clinic. The clinic will visit all localities in Malta and Gozo, focusing on underprivileged com-
munities, homebound elderly patients,
special-needs schools, and institutionalised
people.
Equipped with modern facilities on par
with any dental clinic, this unit will be
manned by staff members of the Faculty of
Dental Surgery together with final year dental students.
To finance this community project,
the RIDT has found the backing of a
number of corporates and institutions
who have pledged their support through
their donations. The clinic is estimated to
cost around €120,000. The mobile dental
clinic is expected to be on the road this Autumn.
•
RIDT annual report
2012 was the first full year of operation
of the University’s Research Trust. An account of its initiatives and achievements is
given in the first annual report of the Trust.
The report highlights the RIDT’s community involvement, a small selection of the
56
University’s ongoing research projects,
the results of the Trust Fund for 2011–
2012, and credits all donors who contributed in 2012.
The report can be accessed at
www.ridt.eu
•
THINK RESEARCH
Funding of
academic chairs
by FIMBank and
The Alfred Mizzi
Foundation
KSU joins list of donors
In a typical case of charity beginning at
home, the Kunsill Studenti Universitarji
(KSU) has donated €1,000 towards the
research trust of the University of Malta.
Speaking during the presentation of the
donation, Mr Mario Cachia, former pres-
ident of the KSU pledged that the KSU
shall venture to promote the objectives
of the Trust among the students it represents, and encourage them to support it,
even by organising activities to raise funds
for specific future research.
•
As from the next academic year, the Faculty
of Economics, Management and Accountancy of the University of Malta will be providing a course in International Trade Finance
which is being sponsored by FIMBank Malta plc and the International Factor Group
(IFG). The same faculty will also introduce
a course in Digital Marketing which is being
sponsored by The Alfred Mizzi Foundation.
These new additions will offer a unique educational experience in modern commercial
activities to both local and foreign students.
The financing of the courses has been facilitated by the RIDT.
•
Your contribution
towards research
The University of Malta needs the support
of the whole community to sustain and grow
its research activity. In particular it needs the
support and commitment of its alumni and
other well-wishers. Please consider making a
contribution towards the Research Trust online at www.ridt.eu. Each donation, large or
small, is appreciated.
•
Cycling for breast cancer research
Forty cyclists will be covering an endurance route of 720 km. They will cycle
from London to Brussels to Paris this July
to raise funds for breast cancer research at
the University of Malta. For this initiative
to happen, the RIDT has teamed up with
two not-for-profit organisations, Action
for Breast Cancer Foundation and ALIVE
Charity Foundation. The former is an or-
ganisation that brings together breast
cancer survivors, patients, and well-wishers, while ALIVE consists of a group of
cyclists are dedicating their cycling efforts
towards good causes.
The cyclists are currently undergoing
training to get in shape for this challenge. Their objective is to each raise
€1,800.
Correction
In the previous issue of THINK, we
apologise for misquoting Dr Ing. Anton
Bartolo who said ‘newly refurbished Faculty of ICT Building’ when what was
meant was ‘newly refurbished old Faculty
of ICT building’. The photo should have
represented this building.
•
57
MEME
culture genes
MEME
THINK
58
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